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BV  1725  .S54  1874 

Tribute  to  the  memory  of 
John  B.  Skinner 


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TRIBUTE 

TO 
OF 

JOHN  B.SKINNER 


CONTAININ'G    A 


BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  HIS  LAST  ILLNESS,  DEATH, 
AND    FUNERAL  OBSEQUIES, 


A  SERMON  BY  REV.  ALEX.  McLEAN. 


ACTION  OF  THE  SESSION  OF    CALVARY  CHURCH,  MEETINC; 

OF  THE  BAR  OF  ERIE  COUNTY,  RESOLUTIONS  AND 

MEMORIALS,  OBITUARY  NOTICES    OF 

THE  PRESS,  ETC.  ; 


A    MEMORIAL   PAPER   PREPARED    FOR   THE   HISTORICAL   SOCIETY, 
BY  THE    HON.  JAMES   O.   PUTNAM. 


BUFFALO,  N.  Y. 

PRINTING    HOUSE    OF    MATTHEWS    &    WARREN, 

Office  of  the  "Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser" 

1874. 


^ 


If 


Father,  I  will  that  they  also,  tuhom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with  me 
where  I  am ;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory,  which  thou  hast  given 
me. — St.  John  xvii.  24. 

If  7i<e  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  ivhich 
sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him. — i  Thess.  iv.  14. 

//  shall  come  to  pass,  that  at  evening  time  it  shall  be  light. — 
Zech.  xiv.  7. 


OBITUARY. 


John  B.  Skinner  was  born  at  Williamstown,  Mass.,  July 
23,  1799,  and  died  at  his  residence  in  Bufifalo,  June  6,  1871. 

Although  he  had  lived  more  than  three-score  and  ten 
years,  he  felt  none  of  the  infirmities  of  age  until  within  a  few 
months  of  his  last  illness. 

Early  in  the  Spring  of  1871  he  seemed  conscious  of  in- 
creasing debility.  His  step  was  less  quick  and  elastic,  and 
the  long  walks  to  which  he  had  ever  been  accustomed  were 
gradually  shortened. 

The  last  Sabbath  in  April  he  attended  church  as  usual,  and 
on  Wednesday  dined  with  his  family,  at  the  house  of  his 
brother-in-law;  but  the  next  morning  was  unable  to  rise.  Drs. 
Rochester  and  White  were  called  at  once  to  his  bedside,  but 
found  symptoms  of  prostration  so  alarming  that  they  enter- 
tained little  hope  of  his  recovery.  At  times  he  seemed  better, 
and  during  the  latter  part  of  May  was  able  to  drive  out 
nearly  every  day  for  a  week. 

On  P'riday,  June  2,  he  was  much  worse,  and  from  that 
time  declined  rapidly.  Monday  night  his  sleep  was  quiet 
and  restful,  and  so  continued  the  following  day  until  evening, 
when  he  gently  breathed  his  life  away. 

On  Friday  following,  at  3  P.  M.,  appropriate  funeral  ser- 
vices were  held  at  his  late  residence,  and  largely  attended, 
many  of  his  old  friends,  members  of  the  Bar  and  others,  from 


adjoining  counties,  being  present.  The  Rev.  Alex.  McLean, 
his  pastor,  conducted  the  services,  assisted  by  Rev.  A.  T. 
Chester,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Grosvenor  W.  Heacock,  D.  D.,  and  Rev. 
Erskine  X.  White. 

The    following    gentlemen    were    in    attendance    as    pall- 
bearers : 

Hon.  N.  K.  Hall, 
"     I.  A.  Verplanck, 
"     J.  S.  Ganson, 


Hon.  milliard  Fillmore, 
"     Geo.  W.  Clinton, 
"     R.  P.  :\Iarvin, 
"     W.  H.  Greene, 
The  remains  were  placed  temporarily  in  the  cr}'pt  of  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral,  and  subsequently  removed  to  the  family 
Mausoleum,  at  Forest  Lawn. 


S.  S.  Rogers. 


"FATHER." 

AT    "FOREST  LAWX." 

Let  sculptured  wreath  of  laurel  twine  the  name 
We  hold  more  precious  as  the  years  go  by ; 
This  much  we  give  the  world,  his  meed  of  fame, 
Whose  royal  nature  trembled  at  a  sigh  ; 
Tender,  compassionate,  just,  wise  and  good, 
He  filled  the  measure  -of  his  earthly  days  ; 
Heroic  in  his  purpose,  firm  he  stood. 
And  State  and  Church  unite  to  speak  his  praise. 
Yet  dearer  far  to  us  the  cherished  name 
Which  made  the  Home  the  centre  of  our  bliss. 
How  fondly  spoken  as  we  bent  to  claim 
The  morning  welcome  and  the  evening  kiss. 
We  know  not  what  new  name  to  him  is  given, 
But  "  Father"  we  would  call  our  loved  in  Heaven. 

E.  M.  Olmsted. 
r.E  Roy,  Nov.  19,  1S73. 


SERMON. 


PROFESSIONAL  SUCCESS    NOT    INCOMPATIBLE    WITH 

WHOLE-HEARTED    DEVOTION  TO    THE 

SERVICE    OF   CHRIST. 


Not  slothful  in  business  j   fervent  in  spirit  ;  serving  the  Lord. 

— Roinans  xii.  ii. 

Life  is  a  problem,  its  true  solution  an  absolute  impossi- 
bility only  as  we  are  assisted  by  the  teachings  of  Revelation. 
We  have  manifestly  interests  of  an  earthly  character  which 
cannot  be  disregarded,  and  just  as  manifestly  other  interests 
which  are  spiritual  and  eternal;  to  neglect  which  must  be  in 
the  highest  degree  culpable.  To  live  in  this  world  at  all,  we 
must  of  necessity  devote  much  of  our  time  to  its  pursuits. 
This,  indeed,  is  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  present,  from 
which  there  is  no  escape.  The  law  of  labor  is  imperative. 
The  body  has  its  wants  which  cannot  be  disregarded,  and 
the  provision  for  these  wants  is  the  reward  of  indefatigable 
labor.  Business  therefore  becomes  a  necessity.  But  since  we 
are  also  immortal  beings,  endowed  with  a  spiritual  nature, 
man  cannot  live  by  bread  alone,  no  more  than  he  can  live 
without  bread.  We  cannot,  therefore,  devote  ourselves  exclu- 
sively to  either  the  one  part  of  our  complex  nature  or  the 
other,  and  either  be  happy  or  fulfil  life's  great  end. 


6 

He  is  a  fool, — and  is  so  characterized  by  the  Great  Teacher 
Himself, — who,  devoting  all  his  time  and  efforts  merely  to  the 
body,  and  having  at  last  gained  the  wherewithal  to  satisfy 
its  wants,  says,  "Soul,  thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up  for  many 
years;  take  thine  ease;  eat,  drink  and  be  merry:"  as  if,  by 
any  possibility,  the  soul  could  be  satisfied  with  these  things. 
He  is  a  coward  who,  in  view  of  the  strong  temptation  to  neg- 
lect the  soul's  interests  for  those  of  the  body,  cuts  himself 
loose  from  society,  ignoring  all  its  claims  and  responsibilities, 
and  fleeing  into  solitude,  devotes  himself  exclusively  to  his 
eternal  interests. 

The  very  sublimity  of  the  present  life  consists  in  its  com- 
plex relations,  and  in  so  keeping  the  mastery  over  them  that 
apparently  conflicting  interests  are  harmonized  and  each  kept 
in  its  own  place;  the  work  allotted  to  us  here  prosecuted 
with  becoming  diligence,  while  the  soul  is  kept  as  a  sacred  altar 
upon  which  the  fire  of  fervent  devotion  is  ever  burning. 

We  know  of  no  other  order  of  intelligences,  circumstanced 
as  we  are,  who  have  to  hold  the  balance  of  temporal  and  eter- 
nal interests  with  an  even  hand,  and  carry  the  clue  of  recti- 
tude through  all  the  labyrinth  of  conflicting  interests.  The 
nice  adjustment  of  these  interests  has  been  made  a  subject  of 
special  revelation.  Our  earthly  duties  are  unfolded,  our 
eternal  relations  disclosed,  and  the  important  issues  which 
depend  upon  the  manner  in  which  we  discharge  the  trust 
committed  to  us,  are  clearly  set  forth.  Our  text  is  a  complete 
summary  of  the  duties  required  of  us  :  "  Not  slothful  in  busi- 
ness; fervent  in  spirit;  serving  the  Lord."  The  first  clause, 
"  Not  slothful  in  business,"  is  very  comprehensive,  including 
not  merely  what  we  designate  by  the  word  business,  but  every 
duty  which  presents  itself  It  is  the  exhortation  of  the  wise 
man  condensed  into  a  single  expression, — "  Whatsoever  thy 
hands  find  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might."  The  second 
clause  of  our  text  sets  forth  the  spirit  which  is  to  animate  this 


activity— whole-hearted  devotion  to  the  work  committed  to 
us;  while  the  last  clause  reveals  the  true  inspiration  to  such 
a  life — "Serve  the  Lord."  The  active  labor,  of  whatever 
kind  it  may  be,  the  toil  of  our  hands  or  the  labor  of  our 
minds,  is  to  be  service  rendered  to  the  Lord;  while  the  fer- 
vent spirit  of  devotion  is  to  be  continually  ascending  like  sweet 
smelling  incense  to  His  throne.  The  whole  life  is  thus  to  be 
made  a  sacrifice  and  a  service,  "holy  and  acceptable  to  God." 

We  all  admit  that  this  is  a  very  difficult  requirement.  It 
is  the  ideal  of  a  perfect  life.  Li  Christ  alone  have  we  its  per- 
fect realization.  Those  who  approximate  nearest  to  it  are 
most  like  Him.  To  copy  His  example  perfectly  would  be 
to  obey  perfectly  the  exhortation  of  the  text.  He  neglected 
no  duty  for  the  sake  of  devoting  Himself  more  exclusively  to 
other,  and  what  might  have  been  regarded  as  higher,  duties. 
It  mattered  not  whether  He  was  occupied  in  the  carpenter's 
shop  at  Nazareth,  or  was  preaching  upon  the  mountain's  side 
to  a  great  multitude.  In  the  one  place  as  well  as  in  the 
other  He  was  "about  His  Father's  business." 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  the  first  part  of  this  injunc- 
tion carried  out  to  the  very  letter;  especially  in  the  restricted 
sense  in  which  it  is  commonly  regarded,  as  referring  exclusively 
to  earthly  pursuits.  There  is  but  little  need  in  this  day  to 
give  from  the  pulpit  any  exhortations  to  incite  to  diligence  in 
business.  The  pressure  is  all  in  this  direction.  Yea,  so  great 
has  this  become,  that  every  year  many  give  way  under  the 
mighty  strain  to  which  their  powers  are  subjected,  and  fall  as 
victims  to  undue  devotion  to  business.  They  even  make  this 
an  excuse  for  neglecting  higher  interests.  They  say,  "Let  us 
attend  to  one  thing  at  a  time.  We  will  be  diligent  in  busi- 
ness till  we  have  secured  a  fortune;  after  that  we  will  be  fer- 
vent in  spirit,  devoting  the  remainder  of  our  lives  to  the  service 
of  the  Lord."  You  know  how  worthless  all  such  promises  are, 
how  delusive  are  such  hopes.     The  man  who  devotes  the  best 


8 

years  of  his  life  to  purely  business  pursuits,  dwarfs  his  whole 
nature  and  unfits  himself  for  liigher  walks  of  usefulness. 

It  is  very  rarely,  indeed,  that  we  can  point  to  any  man  as 
an  example  of  a  higher  and  nobler  life,  and  by  his  marked 
success,  even  in  a  worldly  point  of  view,  show  that  the  service 
of  God  is  not  incompatible  with  at  least  a  satisfactory  degree 
of  temporal  prosperity.  In  some  cases  the  Christian  charac- 
ter is  not  so  decided  as  to  leave  no  room  for  doubt,  while  in 
others  the  measure  of  success  attained  is  so  meagre  as  to  fur- 
nish no  very  strong  incentive  to  induce  others  to  copy  the 
example.  So  that  we  have  mainly  to  rely  upon  the  abstract 
truth  when  we  would  show  that  it  is  possible  to  be  "not 
slothful  in  business,"  and  yet  "fervent  in  spirit;  serving  the 
Lord." 

But  to-day  I  can  present  the  truth,  not  merely  by  precept  but 
also  by  example.  A  life  has  just  closed,  so  far  as  respects 
this  world,  which  is  well  calculated  to  teach  us  that  success  in 
a  laborious,  fascinating  and  absorbing  profession  is  not  in- 
compatible with  whole-hearted  devotion  to  the  service  of 
Christ.  Before  its  lustre  fades  away,  I  would  impress  its 
lessons,  and,  if  possible,  induce  some  of  you  to  copy  this 
example. 

This  sacred  hour  should  not  be  spent  in  empty  eulogy  upon 
a  fallible  mortal  like  ourselves.  The  Holy  Spirit  in  the  in- 
spired word  teaches  us  by  example.  Yet  carefully  refraining 
from  everything  like  this,  I  would  magnify  not  the  man  but 
the  grace  of  God  which  made  him  what  he  was.  None  was 
more  conscious  than  our  departed  friend  whose  loss  we  mourn, 
that  he  was  a  debtor  to  Divine  grace  for  all  that  he  was  and 
for  all  that  he  accomplished  during  a  life  which  just  passed 
beyond  the  common  limit  of  three-score  years  and  ten.  He 
arrogated  nothing  to  himself.  He  was  like  a  child  in  his  un- 
assuming modesty,  and  like  a  child  in  his  tenderly  sympathetic 
nature.      A  more  sensitive  and  loving  heart  I   never  knew. 


This  was  a  natural  gift,  inherited  no  doubt  from  his  ancestors. 
His  emotional  nature  was  just  the  counterpart  of  his  delicate 
and  highly  organized  physical  constitution. 

With  the  same  tenderness  as  if  he  were  present,  would  I 
speak  of  him  to-day,  and  therefore  my  endeavor  will  be  not 
to  say  a  single  word  that  would  have  wounded  his  modesty. 
Yea,  may  he  not  be  here  with  his  sainted  daughter  and  others 
who  have  gone  from  this  communion  to  the  higher  fellowship 
of  the  glorified,  although  we  shall  see  their  faces  no  more.  I 
feel  as  if  even  now  he  were  looking  upon  me  from  his  accus- 
tomed place,  with  those  eyes  which  were  always  dimmed  with 
tears  whenever  a  Saviour's  love  was  presented,  and  by  his 
earnest  looks  was  saying,  "  Not  me,  but  Christ." 

Not  thee,  but  Christ,  my  brother,  shall  be  the  subject  of 
this  discourse.  But  surely,  since  now  thou  art  zvith  Christ, 
we  who  are  still  left  may  show  what  Christ  did/(?r  thee  and  by 
thee.  No  wreath  would  we  entwine  for  thy  brow,  since  already 
thy  Master  has  placed  there  the  "crown  of  life."  But  we 
would  show  how  He  made  thee  a  jewel  fit  for  His  own  glori- 
ous crown.  We  would  speak  of  thee  only  as  the  Holy  Spirit 
has  spoken  of  those  who  "through  faith  and  patience  inherited 
the  promises;"  to  show  that  the  same  grace  has  still  the  same 
power  over  those  who  yield  themselves  to  its  influence.  It 
was  this  which  enabled  thee  to  approximate  so  nearly  ^to  the 
ideal  of  a  perfect  life  as  described  in  our  text,  "Not  slothful 
in  business;  fervent  in  spirit;  serving  the  Lord." 

Let  us,  brethren  and  friends,  glance  at  his  life,  that  we 
may  learn  what  appears  to  me  to  be  its  chief  lesson,  viz:  that 
it  is  possible  to  be  diligent  and  successful  in  a  professional 
career,  and  yet  "fervent  in  spirit;  serving  the  Lord." 

The  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner  was  a  grandson  of  the  R-ev. 
Thomas  Skinner,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College,  whose 
whole  ministerial  life  was  spent  in  Westchester,  Conn.,  as 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  in  that  place.     His  father. 


lO 


Benj.  Skinner,  removed  to  WilHamstown,  Mass.,  and  took  a 
very  active  part  in  the  organization  and  building  of  Williams 
College,  which  has  for  years  occupied  such  a  commanding 
position  among  our  New  England  literary  institutions.  It 
was  in  this  place  that  the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born. 
He  enjoyed  the  highest  literary  advantages  this  country  then 
afforded,  and  so  diligently  improved  them  that  he  was  admit- 
ted to  college  when  only  fifteen  years  of  age,  graduating  with 
honor  and  high  promise  of  future  usefulness  when  a  mere 
youth  of  nineteen.  The  following  three  years  were  devoted 
by  him  to  the  study  of  his  chosen  profession.  With  such  zeal 
did  he  apply  himself,  aided  by  the  most  famous  instructors, 
both  public  and  private,  that  at  the  age  of  twenty-two  he  was 
admitted  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New  York. 

Frequently  have  I  heard  him  speak  of  the  thorough  pre- 
paration required  in  those  days,  in  comparison  with  the  mea- 
gre attainments  which  are  sometimes  regarded  as  sufficient 
now,  for  admission  into  this  honorable  and  important  profes- 
sion. His  whole  future  success,  with  his  accustomed  modesty, 
he  attributed  to  his  thorough  preparation  and  not  to  his  own 
native  abilities. 

There  was  a  sad  scene  through  which  he  passed  about  this 
time,  which  made  a  deep  and  permanent  impression  upon  his 
youn^  mind.  His  father,  feeling  that  death  was  at  hand,  like 
good  old  Jacob,  called  his  sons  around  his  dying  bed  and 
prayed  for  them,  one  after  another,  by  name,  earnestly  plead- 
ing for  those  who  had  not  yet  given  evidence  that  they  were 
truly  converted,  that  they  might  be  included  in  the  covenant 
of  grace.  But  when  he  came  to  John,  he  prayed  for  him  as 
if  he  were  already  a  child  of  God.  The  godly  father  doubtless 
detected  in  his  blameless  life  and  tender  regard  for  sacred 
things,  the  commencement  of  that  work  of  grace  which  was  to 
become  deeper  and  deeper,  till  it  resulted  in  that  high  Chris- 
tian character  with  which  we  are  familiar. 


II 

Soon  after  his  admission  to  the  bar,  he  sought  a  field  of  la- 
bor in  what  was  then  the  far  West,  and  settled  in  an  adjoining 
county.  Although  only  a  boy,  he  was  at  once  engaged  in 
some  of  the  most  important  cases  then  before  the  courts. 
Responsibility  was  forced  upon  him  rather  than  courted.  I 
remember  well  how  graphically  he  described  his  feelings  when 
called  upon,  I  think  by  the  appointment  of  the  Court,  to  de- 
fend a  man  who  was  upon  trial  for  his  life.  Never  did  a 
young  physician,  in  treating  a  critical  case,  have  greater  anxi- 
ety for  the  life  of  his  patient  than  this  young  barrister  had 
for  the  life  of  his  cHent.  He  felt  that  he  held  the  poor  man's 
destiny  in  his  hand,  and  was  almost  overwhelmed  with  the 
responsibility.  His  pathetic  eloquence  prevailed,  and  his 
client  was  acquitted.  This  at  once  established  his  reputation. 
Business  rolled  in  upon  him,  till  in  a  few  years,  if  a  dispute 
arose  among  neighbors  in  any  of  the  counties  in  which  he 
practiced,  the  effort  was  who  should  first  reach  Squire  Skin- 
ner's office  and  secure  his  services.  The  one  who  was  success- 
ful in  this  felt  that  his  case  was  already  won. 

The  labor  which  he  performed  during  the  first  ten  or  fifteen 
years  of  his  professional  career  was  truly  astounding.  At  the 
present  rates  for  legal  services,  his  income  would  have  been 
at  least  a  competence,  if  not  a  modest  fortune. 

But  his  efforts  were  not  confined  to  the  mere  routine  of 
professional  duties.  He  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  political 
issues  of  the  day,  and  had  he  been  ambitious  for  political 
distinction,  he  might  have  aspired  successfully  to  far  higher 
offices  than  any  which  he  filled  with  such  honor  and  distinc- 
tion ;  for  he  honored  the  position,  rather  than  deriving  honor 
from  the  position.  His  effort  was  rather  to  keep  out  of  office 
than  to  secure  it.  This  feature  of  his  public  life  inspired  the 
confidence  which  he  enjoyed,  not  merely  among  his  political 
friends,  but  also  opponents.  Although  devotedly  attached 
to  the  political  party  which  he  espoused  at  the  very  beginning 


12 

of  his  public  life,  and  whose  ranks  he  never  deserted,  yet  he 
was  not  a  party  man  for  the  emoluments  of  office,  but  from 
the  honest  conviction  that  its  principles,  if  carried  out,  would 
secure  the  highest  good  for  the  whole  country. 

I  never  heard  of  but  one  charge  brought  against  him,  when 
a  candidate  for  office,  by  the  opposing  party,  and  that  he 
related  to  me  himself.  He  was  charged  with  having  pur- 
chased a  mortgage  against  a  poor  widow,  turning  her  out  of 
house  and  home.  It  was  either  the  wilful  or  ignorant  misrep- 
resentation of  an  act  of  charity  on  his  part.  The  wddow 
consulted  with  him,  and  as  the  only  way  of  securing  her  little 
property  free  from  encumbrance,  he  had  the  mortgage  fore- 
closed, that  the  property  might  be  bought  in  for  the  widow 
herself,  although  I  believe  he  was  ostensibly  the  purchaser. 
This  he  related  merely  as  an  illustration  of  the  misrepresen- 
tation to  which  the  character  of  public  men  is  exposed,  in 
the  excitement  of  a  political  campaign. 

The  habits  of  industry  which  he  acquired  continued  through 
his  whole  life.  While  a  member  of  Assembly  for  three  succes- 
sive terms,  the  last  two  being  elected  by  both  parties,  his  time 
was  fully  occupied.  Being  so  universally  known  in  this  part 
of  the  State,  if  any  important  bill  relative  to  local  interests 
w^as  to  be  presented,  the  labor  of  drafting  it  was  always  com- 
mitted to  him.  And  yet  he  found  time  to  attend  to  other  and 
higher  interests  for  the  good  of  the  people.  Intemperance 
then,  as  now,  was  the  curse  of  the  country;  but  the  habit  of 
moderate  drink  was  then  so  general  that  few  could  be  found 
to  raise  their  voice  against  the  consequent  evil.  While  attend- 
ing the  Assembly,  at  Albany,  w^ith  Chancellor  Walworth  he 
originated  the  first  temperance  meeting  held  in  this  State, 
and  had  the  honor  of  being  its  presiding  officer.  I  think 
that  meeting  was  addressed  by  Rev.  Dr.  Hewit,  the  American 
apostle  of  temperance.  Shortly  after  returning  to  his  home, 
he  visited  every  town  in  his  own  county,  advocating  this  then 


13 

unpopular  cause,  with  so  much  success  that  an  almost  com- 
plete reformation  was  effected,  the  blessed  fruits  of  which  the 
County  of  Wyoming  still  enjoys. 

When  called  to  the  bench  as  Judge,  he  was  strict  and  im- 
partial in  his  decisions,  yet  allowing  the  counsel  who  appeared 
before  him  great  latitude  in  the  management  of  their  cases. 
This  resulted  from  the  discomfiture  of  a  Judge  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, who  adopted  just  the  opposite  extreme.  He  had 
interrupted  an  advocate  in  his  examination  of  a  witness  re- 
peatedly, and  at  last,  when  the  question  was  asked,  "Was  it 
moonlight  the  night  when  this  event  occurred  .'*"  the  Judge 
wholly  lost  his  patience,  and  said,  "The  time  of  the  Court  can- 
not be  wasted  by  such  irrelevant  questions.  What  difference 
can  it  make  in  this  case  whether  it  was  moonlight  or  not  ? " 
Soon  the  counsel  showed  that  the  whole  case  turned  upon 
that  very  point.  "This,"  said  our  friend,  'T  always  remem- 
bered whenever  inclined  to  lose  my  patience  upon  the  bench, 
presuming  that  the  counsel  who  had  investigated  the  whole 
case  knew  better  than  I  did  the  bearing  of  their  questions." 

I  need  not  speak  of  the  honor  and  distinction  which  he 
gained  in  his  profession.  His  name  is  a  household  word  in 
the  county  where  his  active  professional  life  was  passed.  No 
man  will  be  missed  more,  and  no  man  mourned  with 
greater  sincerity.  Few  have  had  a  more  successful  career. 
Had  he  coveted  higher  honors,  they  were  easily  within  his 
reach.  But  instead  of  this  he  retired  from  active  business 
when  his  powers  were  in  full  vigor;  not,  however,  merely  to 
enjoy  the  elegant  leisure  which  he  had  earned  by  years  of 
unremitting  industry.  His  usefulness  continued  to  the  close 
of  his  life.  Every  important  public  charity  in  this  and  adjoin- 
ing counties  coveted  his  services.  Nor  did  he  accept  these 
appointments  as  merely  honorary.  With  as  much  fidelity  as 
if  they  were  his  own  personal  interests  did  he  serve  these  in- 
stitutions. 


14 

It  is  only  a  very  few  months  ago  that  he  was  sent  for  to 
Warsaw,  to  advocate  the  claims  of  a  Reformatory  upon  a  new 
plan,  for  those  who  had  just  entered  upon  a  career  of  crime. 
His  health  was  even  then  giving  way.  Those  who  heard  him 
upon  that  occasion,  and  who  had  listened  to  his  eloquence  in 
times  past,  acknowledged  that  he  surpassed  his  own  happiest 
efforts.  He  related  his  experience  as  a  lawyer,  and  said,  "I 
throw  my  forty  years  of  experience  in  the  Courts  of  this  State 
in  favor  of  this  movement.  I  know  the  corrupting  influence 
of  association  with  hardened  criminals,  upon  those  who  have 
only  taken  the  first  steps  in  wrong  doing.  Provide  for  them 
such  an  asylum  as  this,  and  they  may  yet  retrieve  their  char- 
acters and  become  useful  members  of  society.  Send  them 
to  our  State  prisons,  and  most  of  them  are  ruined  forever. 
'Evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners.'  " 

Truly  he  was  "not  slothful  in  business."  "Whatsoever  his 
hands  found  to  do,  he  did  it  with  all  his  might." 

But  were  this  all  that  could  be  said  of  him,  although  his 
was  a  successful  life,  acccording  to  a  worldly  standard,  for  he  se- 
cured both  fame  and  fortune,  and  yet  maintained  his  character 
without  a  blot,  so  that  a  distinguished  Judge  of  our  own  city 
in  a  single  sentence  pronounced  the  highest  possible  eulogy 
upon  him,  while  we  were  together  in  the  house  of  mourning, 
in  these  words  :  "  He  lies  there  just  as  pure  as  he  was  in 
his  cradle;"  yet,  according  to  a  higher  standard,  his  life 
would  have  been  divested  of  its  chief  glory ;  for  all  these 
things  he  might  have  done  for  profit  or  renown,  merely  for 
that  honor  which  cometh  from  men.  But  he  had  higher 
views  of  life.  His  devotion  to  his  profession  and  to  public 
interests  did  not  prevent  him  from  devoting  himself  to  the 
service  of  Christ.  Nor  did  his  devotion  to  the  service  of 
Christ  prove  the  slightest  obstacle  to  his  professional  suc- 
cess. 

Although,  as  we  have  already  seen,  his  pious  father  de- 


15 

tected  in  him  the  incipient  manifestations  of  a  work  of  grace 
even  in  youth,  yet  it  was  not  till  he  had  reached  full  maturity 
that  he  made  a  public  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ.  This 
delay  was  doubtless  because  of  his  characteristic  distrust  of 
himself;  for  he  was  always  a  regular  attendant  upon  the 
means  of  grace,  and  a  liberal  supporter  of  the  institutions 
of  religion.  With  the  same  zeal  and  whole-heartedness  he 
devoted  himself  to  his  religious  duties  that  he  did  to  his  tem- 
poral pursuits.  He  mastered  that  most  difficult  of  all  lessons 
in  practical  Christianity,  to  "  use  the  world  as  not  abusing  it," 
— to  keep  it  in  its  proper  place  of  subordination.  He  made 
his  daily  life  a  service  to  the  Lord.  No  offer,  however  tempt- 
ing, could  induce  him  to  undertake  a  cause  that  had  not 
justice  upon  its  side.  He  had  not  a  professional  and  a  Chris- 
tian conscience,  the  one  to  regulate  his  conduct  at  the  bar, 
and  the  other  in  the  Church  of  God.  What  he  was  upon  the 
Sabbath,  that  he  was  during  the  whole  week.  The  Word  of 
God  was  the  rule  of  his  life.  Christ  was  his  Master,  and  in 
all  things  he  endeavored  to  serve  Him.  This  was  doubtless 
the  grand  reason  of  his  success. 

He  would  have  been  a  very  poor  advocate  where  his  feel- 
ings were  not  enlisted,  and  poorer  still  if  he  had  to  argue 
against  his  own  convictions.  It  was  an  easy  matter  when  he 
was  convinced  that  he  was  right,  to  convince  others  of  the  jus- 
tice of  his  cause.  But  his  character  was  so  transparent  that 
it  would  have  been  impossible  for  him  to  have  concealed  a 
fraud.  He  spoke  from  the  heart,  and  his  heart  was  over- 
flowing with  love  for  the  wretched  and  sinful,  because  it 
had  been  penetrated  by  the  love  of  Him  who,  when  upon 
earth,  was  known  as  "  the  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners." 
Thus  he  succeeded  in  carrying  into  his  professional  life  his 
Christian  profession,  keeping  it  pure  and  unsullied,  and  at  the 
same  time  maintained,  even  to  the  last,  his  confidence  in  hu- 
man nature,  although  he  had,  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  to 


i6 

become  so  conversant  with  the  darkest  phases  of  our  poor, 
fallen,  sinful  humanity. 

Very  soon  after  connecting  himself  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Wyoming,  where  he  first  took  the  vows  of  God 
upon  him,  he  was  elected  to  its  eldership.  In  a  great  meas- 
ure the  past  and  present  prosperity  of  that  church  was  due 
to  his  untiring  efibrts.  When  his  residence  was  transferred 
to  this  city,  some  twelve  years  ago,  although  he  would  have 
received  a  warm  welcome  to  any  of  our  churches,  he  looked 
around,  not  to  see  where  he  would  be  most  honored,  and  find 
the  most  congenial  society,  but  where  he  could  be  most  use- 
ful, and  identified  himself  with  Calvary  Church,  which  was 
then,  amid  many  discouragements,  striving  to  maintain  an 
existence.  This  inspired  the  little  band  of  brethren  here 
with  confidence  and  courage.  He  was  invited  to  his  place  in 
the  eldership,  and  with  untiring  energy,  devoting  not  only 
his  time  but  also  his  means,  he  labored  for  its  prosperity.  If 
he  was  ever  discouraged,  he  always  succeeded  in  concealing 
his  feelings.  Always  hopeful,  always  confident,  he  saw  only 
the  bright  side.  Nothing  was  ever  permitted  to  interfere 
with  his  religious  duties.  It  was  a  delight  to  him  to  lay  aside 
his  business  cares  and  come  to  the  house  of  prayer.  His  dili- 
gence in  business  did  not  abate  the  fervency  of  his  spirit. 

How  often  have  we  heard  him  plead  with  God,  his  voice 
tremulous  with  deepest  emotion,  for  blessings  upon  this  church 
and  this  city.  He  knew  how  to  draw  near  to  God.  How 
earnest  were  his  exhortations  welling  up  from  the  very  depths 
of  his  heart.  This  was  very  marked  since  his  return  from 
Europe,  a  little  more  than  two  years  ago.  The  months  which 
he  spent  there  was  the  only  season  of  relaxation  he  had  given 
himself  during  his  whole  life.  He  was  joyous  as  a  child, 
while  passing  through  the  varied  scenes  of  interest  in  the 
great  theatre  of  the  past.  His  was  a  nature  to  more  than 
realize  its  anticipations.     His  sojourn  in  the  old  world  was  to 


17 

him  a  long  and  delightful  holiday  ;  but  we  know  its  sad  ter- 
mination. 

With  his  beloved  wife  he  joined  their  only  daughter  and 
her  husband  in  Europe,  that  together  they  might  behold  the 
things  which  were  so  familiar  to  them  from  extensive  reading. 
The  whole  family  were  together,  and  their  cup  of  happiness 
was  full.  But  they  were  to  learn  how  closely  sorrow  treads 
upon  our  present  joys.  Surrounded  by  the  sublime  and  beau- 
tiful in  nature,  where  they  had  selected  a  residence  for  some 
months,  an  infant  grandson  was  placed  in  his  aged  arms.  To 
one  who  had  such  great  love  for  children  this  was  happiness 
indeed.  But  the  bud  of  promise  drooped  and  died.  Just 
before  its  departure,  with  his  own  hand  he  sprinkled  upon  it 
the  symbolical  water  in  the  name  of  the  sacred  Three.  Love 
and  sorrow  had  alike  consecrated  him  for  this  holy  office. 

But  this  was  only  the  first  step  in  a  deeper  baptism  of  sor- 
row. The  young  mother,  the  only  child  and  daughter  upon 
whom  the  wealth  of  affection  of  three  loving  hearts  was  lav- 
ished, had  to  follow  her  little  one  into  the  far-off  country. 
At  the  moment  of  her  departure  he  was  with  her  and  seemed 
to  enter  also  within  the  gate.  But  she  passed  on  alone.  The 
glory  for  him  faded  away  for  a  little.  He  only  knew  how 
near  he  had  been  to  heaven  by  looking  upon  the  face  of  his 
beloved  dead,  which  continued  illuminated  by  the  rapture  of 
the  departing  spirit.  The  influence  of  this  scene  he  carried 
with  him  to  the  close  of  his  life. 

When  he  spoke  of  the  vanity  of  earth  and  of  the  glory 
to  be  revealed,  it  was  as  Paul  the  aged  spake  after  he  had 
been  transported  to  the  third  heavens.  Eternal  things  were 
to  him  such  realities.  We  expected  to  meet  him  a  crushed  and 
broken-hearted  old  man.  But  instead  of  this  there  was  a 
saintly  sweetness  of  patient  resignation  surrounding  him, 
which  increased  as  he  ripened  for  heaven.  The  one  great  link 
which  bound  him  to  the  future — for  it  is  true  that  in  old  age 


parents  live  for  their  children  rather  than  for  themselves — sev- 
ered, he  did  not  cease  from  his  labors,  but  abounded  in  them 
more  and  more,  as  if  in  haste  to  have  his  work  done,  that  he 
might  go  home.  The  interests  of  the  Church  absorbed  him 
more  and  more.  His  heart's  desire  and  prayer  to  God  was 
that  the  dissevered  branches  of  our  beloved  Presbyterian 
Church  might  be  reunited.  P"or  this  he  labored  as  well  as 
prayed.  I  saw  the  tears  of  joy  in  his  eyes  when  this  union 
was  at  last  consummated,  and  the  two  Assemblies  brought 
together  to  ratify  it. 

But  while  he  loved  the  whole  Church  and  Christains  of  every 
name,  it  was  upon  this  Church,  which  he  served  so  faithfully 
as  a  ruling  elder,  that  his  heart's  best  affections  were  su- 
premely fixed.  Nothing  could  keep  him  from  her  solemn 
assemblies,  not  even  the  waning  vigor  of  his  powers. 

Many  of  you  will  remember  how,  with  tottering  steps,  he 
passed  up  the  aisle,  when  for  the  last  time  he  distributed  the 
sacramental  emblems.  A  less  devoted  man  would  have  ex- 
cused himself  from  duty.  But  the  fervency  of  his  spirit  sup- 
plied the  lack  of  physical  vigor. 

Well  do  I  remember  his  last  appearance  in  yonder  pew. 
The  text  of  the  discourse  was,  "I  am  not  alone,  for  the  Father 
is  with  me."  This  was  the  promise  upon  which  he  was  to 
lean  ;  the  truth  of  which  he  was  soon  to  test,  and  have  ful- 
filled in  his  own  experience.  Little  did  we  think  as  we  saw 
him  with  slow  and  hesitating  step,  as  if  he  would  linger  a 
little  longer,  leaving  the  house  of  God,  and  watched  him  be- 
yond its  sacred  portals,  that  he  was  to  pass  them  no  more. 
But  this  was  the  will  of  God  and  we  must  bow  in  submission, 
although  our  loss  is  so  great.  "  The  Lord  gave  and  the  Lord 
hath  taken  away  ;  "  we  bless  and  magnify  His  holy  name  for 
all  that  He  made  him  by  His  grace,  and  for  all  that  He  en- 
abled him  to  accomplish  here.  LTpon  that  Sabbath  his  work 
was  really  finished,  although  the  Lord  spared  him  to  his  famiK' 


19 

for  a  few  weeks  longer,  that  they  might  lavish  upon  him  the 
tender  ministrations  of  love. 

We  have  to  record  the  loving  kindness  and  tender  mercy 
of  our  God  to  His  servant.  Goodness  and  mercy  followed 
him  all  the  days  of  his  life.  He  had  served  God  in  his  gen- 
eration, and  by  his  life  of  active  usefulness  had  testified  to 
the  purifying  and  elevating  power  of  divine  grace.  Nothing 
could  have  added  to  the  lustre  of  this  testimony.  It  needed 
not  for  its  completion  the  raptures  which  God  sometimes 
vouchsafes  to  His  servants  in  the  hour  of  death.  We  needed 
not  the  assurance  from  his  lips  that  all  was  well  with  him. 
And  so  we  sought  it  not.  Just  as  the  sun,  when  it  has  run  its 
circuit  through  the  heavens,  gently  sinks  to  rest  behind  the 
gates  of  the  west,  and  is  lost  to  our  sight,  so  did  he  pass 
away.  He  had  finished  his  course,  and  the  Lord  let  fall  upon 
His  departing  servant  the  mantle  of  unconsciousness.  There 
was  no  pain,  no  fainting,  no  sickness,  no  languor.  He  "fell 
on  sleep  "  like  the  aged  king  of  Israel  who  was  the  man  after 
God's  own  heart.  When  his  work  was  done,  the  Master 
sweetly  whispered  in  his  ear,  "  Rest  from  thy  labor,"  and  gave 
"  his  beloved  sleep." 

The  dear  ones  who  watched  so  tenderly  over  him  in  his 
last  hours  felt  that  he  might  awake  at  any  moment.  And  he 
did.  Jesus  came  and  awoke  him  out  of  his  sleep.  But  who 
can  describe  that  awaking  ?  Oh  !  did  we  know  more  of  what 
transpires  between  the  dying  saint  and  his  Saviour,  what  a 
scene  could  we  present.  He  was  ALONE,  though  his  loving 
wife  and  friends  were  ever  near  him.  The  hand  of  affection 
which  clasped  his  could  feel  no  returning  pressure.  But  think 
you  he  was  alone?  Think  you  that  the  soul  was  wrap- 
ped in  the  same  unconsciousness  as  the  body  .-*  I  looked  at 
the  lips  from  which  words  of  mortal  language  would  never 
more  pass,  and  I  thought  if  it  were  lawful  for  him  to 
speak  to  us  again,  what  wonders  he  could  now  reveal.     And 


20 

yet  I  knew  that  from  the  depths  of  the  dark  valley  where  he 
then  was,  his  soul  was  saying  in  rapture,  "  I  fear  no  evil,  for 
Thou  art  with  me,  Thy  rod  and  Thy  staff  they  comfort  me." 

The  night  was  growing  dark  and  tempestuous  as  for  the 
last  time  I  left  his  sacred  chamber — sacred  because  it  was  the 
gate  of  heaven  to  an  immortal  soul.  The  midnight  hour 
drew  near.  Sleep  had  forsaken  my  couch.  A  strange  pres- 
ence seemed  to  enter  my  chamber.  No  form  did  I  see.  No 
words  did  I  hear.  And  yet  it  seemed  as  if  he  had  tarried  a 
moment  on  his  ascending  way,  to  say  farewell,  and  leave  the 
parting  message  he  could  not  speak.  It  was  as  if  I  heard  his 
familiar  voice  saying,  "  Farewell  earth,  with  its  dark,  tempestu- 
ous nights.  There  is  now  no  night  for  me.  The  light  of  un- 
ending day  dawns  upon  me.  I  am  rising  above  the  clouds. 
Already  do  I  realize  the  presence  of  my  God  and  Saviour. 
Already  do  I  see  the  loved  ones  for  whom  I  mourned  coming 
to  meet  me.  FareweU  !  for  I  must  away.  Tell  the  dear  ones 
whom  my  departure  has  left  so  desolate  not  to  mourn.  A 
little  while,  and  our  family  divided  in  that  foreign  land  shall 
be  reunited  in  the  Fatherland  which  I  am  now  entering. 
Farewell !  Farewell !  " 

I  only  speak  for  him.  Comfort  ye  then  one  another  with 
these  his  last  words. 

But,  dear  brethren  and  friends,  let  us  lay  to  heart  the  great 
lesson  of  his  life.  We  too  can  be  "diligent  in  business;  fer- 
vent in  spirit ;  serving  the  Lord."  Let  us  follow  him  so 
far  as  he  followed  Christ.  Then  life's  duties  done,  death  will 
be  to  us  just  what  it  has  been  to  him — falling  asleep  in  the 
arms  of  Jesus,  to  awake  in  His  likeness,  amid  all  the  joys  and 
blessed  companionship  of  Heaven. 


MEMORIALS  AND  RESOLUTIONS. 


MEMORIAL  OF  THE  SESSION  OF  CALVARY 
CHURCH. 

A  joint  meeting  of  the  Session,  Deacons  and  Trustees 
of  Calvary  Church  was  held  in  the  Chapel,  Wednesday 
evening,  June  7,  1871,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  expression 
to  the  feelings  of  the  officers  of  this  Church  and  congregation, 
in  view  of  the  great  loss  they  have  sustained  in  the  death  of 
Hon.  John  B.  Skinner,  who  for  several  years  was  an  Elder 
and  Trustee  of  this  Church  and  Society. 

Rev.  A.  McLean  was  called  to  the  chair.  Geo.  P.  Putnam, 
Esq.,  was  appointed  secretary. 

The  following  memorial  was  unanimously  adopted  : 

On  the  sixth  day  of  June,  187 1,  at  eleven  o'clock  and  twenty  min- 
utes P.  M.,  our  dear  and  venerated  friend,  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner, 
parted  from  this  mortal  life,  and  entered,  as  we  devoutly  trust,  upon 
the  blessedness  of  the  life  eternal. 

His  relations  to  this  Church  from  its  organization,  as  an  Elder,  as 
President  of  its  Board  of  Trustees,  and  as  one  of  its  most  earnest 
and  devoted  members,  have  been  so  intimate,  so  pleasant,  and  to  us 
so  fraught  with  highest  profit,  that  words  can  but  feebly  express  our 
sense  of  bereavement. 


When  we  remember,  however,  the  long  hfe  which  he  was  permit- 
ted to  spend  in  that  service  which  he  loved,  the  ripeness  of  his 
Christian  experience,  and  the  gentle  hand  that  has  led  him  in  perfect 
trust  and  peace  to  the  "  silent  shore,"  our  gratitude  almost  exceeds 
our  grief,  and  we  bow  in  humble  submission  and  thanksgiving. 

Resolved,  That  this  memorial  be  entered  by  the  Clerk  of  Session 
and  by  the  Clerk  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  in  their  respective 
minutes. 


ACTION  OF  THE  BAR  OF  ERIE  COUNTY. 

Pursuant  to  call,  a  meeting  of  the  Bar  of  Erie  County  was 
held  at  the  Old  Court  House,  yesterday  afternoon,  at  five 
o'clock.  The  attendance  was  quite  large  and  a  number  of 
distinguished  jurists  were  among  those  present.  The  Hon. 
Judge  Verplanck  called  the  assemblage  to  order  and  stated 
the  object  of  the  meeting  to  be  to  take  action  in  reference 
to  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner.  Upon  his 
motion,  Hon.  Millard  Fillmore  was  called  to  preside,  and 
upon  taking  his  chair  asked  the  pleasure  of  the  meeting. 

On  motion  of  Wm.  H.  Greene,  Esq.,  Judge  D.  H.  Bull, 
of  Cattaraugus  county,  and  Hon.  H.  S.  Cutting,  were  ap- 
pointed secretaries.  The  organization  being  complete,  the 
following  remarks  were  made  from  the  chair  : 

REM.-VRKS    BY    THE    HON.    MR.    FH.LM(3RE. 

I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  apologizing,  but  it  has  been  so  long 
since  I  have  attempted  to  speak  in  public  that  I  fancy  that  I 
feel  somewhat  like  lhe  aged  prisoner  released  from  the  Bastile. 
He  had  been  confined  so  long  that  he  had  lost  the  use  of  his 
limbs,  and  consequently  his  steps  were  hesitating  and  unsteady. 
But  feeble  and  unsatisfactory  as  my  effort  to  speak  may  be,  yet 
I  can  not  withhold  my  tribute  of  respect  to  the  man  whose  death 
we  deplore  to-dny.      T  am  not  prepared  to  pronounce  any  eulogy 


23 

upon  the  character  of  Judge  Skinner.  Whoever  shall  assume  that 
responsible  duty  will  require  time  for  reflection  and  preparation. 
But  since  I  consented  to-day  to  attend  this  meeting  I  have  been 
too  much  occupied  by  previous  engagements  to  find  time  even 
to  read  the  brief  obituary  of  the  deceased  published  in  the  papers 
this  morning.  I  shall  therefore  content  myself  by  speaking  of  the 
Judge  as  I  knew  him.  Doubtless  there  are  many  in  this  intelli- 
gent audience  who  knew  him  more  intimately,  if  not  so  long  as  I 
have.  My  acquaintance  commenced  with  him  in  1S29,  when  he 
and  I  were  both  members  of  the  Assembly.  That  was  my  first 
year,  but  I  think  it  was  his  third  year,  and  he  had  then  an  en- 
viable reputation  for  so  young  a  man  in  that  distinguished  body, 
as  yet  free  from  the  suspicion  of  bribery,  and  adorned  by  the 
talents  of  such  men  as  John  C.  Spencer,  Erastus  Root,  Benjamin 
F.  Butler,  Frank  Granger,  and  a  host  of  others.  The  revision  of 
our  statutes — the  great  work  which  did  so  much  to  methodize 
our  laws  and  relieve  them  from  the  cumbrous  language  and  ac- 
cumulated contradictions  and  inconsistencies  of  years — was  then 
just  completed,  and  in  that  great  work  Judge  Skinner  bore  a 
conspicuous  part.  I  know  that  he  was  listened  to  with  confidence 
and  respect,  and  no  member  of  the  House  seemed  to  exert  a  more 
salutary  influence.  But  that,  I  believe,  was  his  last  year  in  the  State 
Legislature,  and  party  politics — not  want  of  talent  or  integrity — 
prevented  him  from  being  elected  to  any  popular  office ;  and, 
indeed,  so  long  as  I  took  part  in  party  politics,  we  belonged  to 
different  parties,  consequently  my  subsequent  acquaintance  was 
mainly  at  the  bar.  But  here  he  was  distinguished  for  his  legal  ac- 
quirements and  forensic  eloquence.  I  have  often  felt  a  tremor 
of  anxiety  when  I  had  to  meet  him.  He  was  a  man  religiously 
devoted  to  the  interest  of  his  client  without  ever  compromising  his 
own  conscience  or  dignity.  He  prepared  his  case  with  great  labor 
and  assiduity,  and  whatever  could  be  honorably  said  in  favor  of  his 
client's  interest  he  presented  with  great  clearness  and  force,  and  when 
that  was  done  he  conceived  he  had  discharged  his  professional  duty, 
and  he  patiently  awaited  the  result.  But  professional  labors,  how- 
ever great  and  however  successful,  give  but  a  limited  reputation 
compared  with  official  services.  The  reputation  of  the  lawyer  is 
confined  mostly  to  the  bench  and  bar,  while  that  of  the  statesman  or 
military  hero  fills   the  nation — and  is   often  reflected   from   foreign 


24 

countries.     But  the  highest  encomium  which  can  ever  be  passed 

upon   a  man  of  his  profession  may  with  great  propriety  be   passed 

upon  him,  and  that  is,  he  was  a  learned,  conscientious  lawyer. 

"A  wit  's  a  feather,  and  a  chief 's  a  rod, 
But  an  honest  man  is  the  noblest  work  of  God." 

As  a  citizen,  his  character  stands  without  blemish.  Foremost  in 
all  efforts  to  relieve  the  wants  and  improve  the  morals  of  society, 
he  taught  temperance  rather  by  practice  than  by  lectures;  he  adorned 
the  Christian  character  by  an  humble,  pious  devotion,  and  was  con- 
tent to  worship  his  Creator  in  his  own  way,  without  bigotry  and  free 
from  all  intolerance.  Death  is  the  common  lot  of  humanity.  It 
must  come  to  us  all  sooner  or  later,  and  it  can  never  touch  a  near 
and  dear  friend  without  our  feeling  it  most  sensibly.  But  yet  there  is 
some  consolation  in  the  thought  that  he  was  taken  from  us  after  his 
work  was  fully  done.  Had  he  died  earlier,  we  should  have  felt  that 
he  and  society  had  lost  much.  Had  he  survived  the  loss  of  health 
and  faculties,  we  should  have  felt  that  his  life  was  but  prolonged 
misery,  with  no  adequate  compensation  to  himself  or  others.  Our 
Creator  knows  best  when  it  is  time  for  us  to  die,  and  while  we  can- 
not avoid  the  pang  which  the  death  of  a  friend  inflicts,  yet  it  is  our 
duty  humbly  to  submit  to  the  will  of  God  and  be  resigned — and  I 
feel  that  we  but  honor  ourselves  in  honoring  his  memory. 

S.  S.  Rogers,  Esq.,  moved  that  a  committee  of  five  be  ap- 
pointed to  draft  resolutions  expressive  of  the  sense  of  the 
meeting  ;  and  the  motion  being  adopted,  the  chair  appointed 
as  such  committee  the  following  gentlemen  :  S.  S.  Rogers, 
Esq.,  Judge  Hall,  Judge  Daniels,  E.  G.  Lapham,  Esq.,  of 
Ontario,  and  George  F.  Danforth,  Esq.,  of  Monroe. 

In  the  absence  of  the  committee,  the  Hon.  Judge  Corn- 
stock,  of  Canandaigua,  arose  and  paid  a  beautiful  tribute  to 
the  memory  of  the  deceased.  He  had  known  Judge  Skinner 
in  Wyoming  county  for  fifteen  years  ;  and  where  he  was  besj; 
known  as  a  lawyer,  a  Christian  and  a  citizen,  he  stood  pre- 
eminent. "As  a  lawyer,"  he  said,  "we  all  knew  him  ;  as  an 
advocate  he  had  few  equals  and  no  superior,  and  carried  with 
him  a  force  and  fire  which  I  never  knew  in  any  other  man." 
He  said  that  he  made  his  client's  case  his  own  and  threw  the 


25 

whole  force  of  his  strong  nature  into  his  cause.  As  a  citizen 
he  was  without  a  stain  upon  his  character.  He  was  a  man  of 
fine  culture,  of  excellent  taste ;  a  genial,  warm-hearted,  sym- 
pathetic man,  beloved  by  all,  rich  and  poor  alike.  He  had 
met  him  often  at  the  Bar,  and  never  had  met  his  equal  before 
a  jury — never  one  who  had  exhibited  more  electrical  power 
or  displayed  more  convincing  eloquence.  He  was  a  gentle- 
man as  well  as  a  lawyer  ;  and  while  he  never  lowered  his  dig- 
nity, he  never  asserted  any  superiority  to  the  discomfort  or 
humiliation  of  others.  Always  kind  to  the  younger  members 
of  the  Bar,  he  was  regarded  by  them  in  return  with  the 
warmest  favor.  For  himself,  he  had  always  regarded  Judge 
Skinner  with  feelings  of  admiration  and  love. 

Mr.  Rogers,  from  the  committee  on  resolutions,  submitted 
the  following  : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner,  the  Bar 
of  Western  New  York  has  lost  one  of  its  most  honored  and  distin- 
guished members,  and  the  State  a  citizen  of  the  highest  character, 
purest  morals  and  the  most  illustrious  example. 

For  more  than  a  generation  he  was  a  leader  at  our  Bar  worthy  of 
the  name.  Able,  eloquent,  courageous,  earnest,  incorruptible,  he 
adorned  the  profession  which  honored  him.  He  loved  that  profes- 
sion with  no  ignoble  or  mercenary  passion.  To  him  its  members 
were  ministers  of  justice,  holding  their  offices  and  discharging  their 
duties  under  the  immediate  supervision  of  the  Great  Judge  ;  and 
through  an  active  and  successful  professional  career,  as  well  as 
through  the  years  of  a  serene  and  peaceful  age,  he  was  known  by 
all  as  a  Christian  gentleman. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  presented  at  the 
General  Term  of  the  Supreme  Court,  now  in  session  for  the  Fourth 
Judicial  Department,  and  that  the  Secretary  also  furnish  a  copy 
thereof  to  the  family  of  our  venerated  friend  and  brother,  and  that 
we  will  attend  the  funeral  in  a  body. 

Mr.  Greene  moved  the  adoption  of  the  resolutions,  and  the 
motion  was  seconded. 


26 

T.  B.  Corlett,  Esq.,  addressed  the  meeting  briefly,  in  a 
strain  of  tender  regard  for  the  memory  of  the  deceased. 

Hon.  R.  P.  Marvin,  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  was  the 
next  gentleman  to  address  the  meeting.  He  said  his  ac- 
quaintance with  Judge  Skinner  was  of  long  standing,  dating 
back  thirty-nine  or  forty  years  in  October.  He  first  met  him 
in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  in  Cattaraugus  county ;  a 
Court  which  transacted  most  of  the  business  that  arose.  He 
had  at  that  time  an  established  reputation  as  a  lawyer.  He 
had  met  him  when  the  county  was  new — -before  the  primeval 
forest  had  been  disturbed — and  the  friendship  he  had  formed 
with  him  then  had  continued  without  interruption  down  to 
the  day  of  his  death.  He  dated  his  first  intimate  acquaint- 
ance with  Judge  Skinner  to  the  time  when  litigation  arose  in 
the  county  of  an  extraordinary  character,  and  which  extended 
into  Pennsylvania.  In  this  Judge  Skinner  took  an  active  and 
important  part.  He  complimented  Judge  Comstock's  charac- 
terization of  the  man,  and  added  that  when  he  (the  speaker) 
was  placed  upon  the  bench,  Judge  Skinner  was  in  full  practice. 
He  said  he  was  known  for  his  intimate  acquaintance  with  the 
nature  of  actions.  He  had  never  met  a  man  who  displayed 
such  wonderful  discrimination  in  regard  to  his  actions.  He 
knew  when  his  action  was  complete  and  when  his  adversary's 
was  faulty  ;  and  when  he  resisted  a  motion  for  a  nonsuit  it 
was  because  he  was  not  to  be  nonsuited,  while  his  demand  for 
a  nonsuit  was  invariably  damaging  to  his  adversary.  The 
speaker  said  he  was  the  most  cautious  man  he  ever  knew  in 
his  preparation  of  a  case,  and  informed  himself  of  all  its  bear- 
ings ;  he  was  the  most  cautious  man  he  ever  knew  in  the  trial 
of  a  cause ;  he  followed  his  evidence  step  by  step,  and  if  the 
statement  of  an  opposing  witness  crossed  his  theory,  on  the 
cross-examination  he  fairly  exhausted  his  ingenuity  to  destroy 
or  qualify  it.  He  disposed  summarily  of  a  witness  who  did 
not  affect  him  seriously.     Few  men  were  better  in  repartee  ; 


27 

but  when  the  case  went  to  the  jury  his  highest  powers  were 
called  into  play.  At  that  time,  cases  taken  up  on  exceptions 
were  rarely  heard  of,  and  the  great  merit  was  to  get  the  cause 
before  a  jury.  He  said  he  thought  he  had  never  heard  a  man 
so  powerful  before  a  jury,  and  he  confessed  that  after  listening 
to  one  of  his  arguments  he  could  not  well  see  how  a  jury 
could  do  otherwise  than  render  in  his  favor.  Of  all  his  earn- 
estness, his  severity,  his  playfulness,  his  power  to  command 
the  sympathies  of  those  w^hom  he  addressed — in  a  word,  of  his 
abilities  as  a  true,  great  advocate,  Judge  Marvin  spoke  with 
eloquent  simplicity  and  force.  In  denunciation  and  anathema 
he  was  terrible,  but  he  was  even  more  powerful  when  he  ap- 
pealed to  a  jury.  At  such  time,  his  voice  would  sink  down 
into  a  whisper,  and  would  continue  so  for  several  minutes  till 
his  listeners  were  fairly  enthralled.  He  had  no  quality  of 
envy  in  his  composition,  and  upon  this  point  Judge  Marvin 
dwelt  with  nicest  delicacy.  He  concluded  a  beautiful  tribute, 
which  we  have  but  merely  outlined,  by  holding  up  the  life  of 
Judge  Skinner  as  one  worthy  the  emulation  of  the  younger 
gentlemen  of  the  Bar,  and  as  a  noble  example  for  all. 

Sherman  S.  Rogers,  Esq.,  spoke  from  the  standpoint  of  a 
ten  years'  friendship,  formed  after  Judge  Skinner's  removal  to 
Buffalo,  since  which  time  he  had  been  substantially  with- 
drawn from  active  professional  life.  He  was  not,  therefore,  to 
the  speaker  the  eloquent  advocate,  the  dis.tinguished  lawyer, 
but  a  friend  who,  though  many  years  his  senior,  was  as  near, 
and  dear  to  him  as  if  he  were  a  kinsman  of  no  remote  degree. 

He  had  nothing,  of  assumption  in  his  character;  nothing  to 
proclaim  his  greatness  but  the  unmistakable  qualities  that 
belong  to  greatness.  He  was  simple  as  a  child,  and  readily 
formed  attachments  to  young  men.  Upon  coming  to  Buffalo 
he  entered  into  our  social  life  with  activity  and  zest,  and  was 
esteemed  and  beloved  by  all.  Age  is  winter  to  most  men — 
a   dark   and   cold   and   dreary  season;  but  it  was  not  so  to 


28 

Judge  Skinner.     He  trod  the  descending  years  of  life  in  sum- 
mer only. 

Although  so  many  years  engaged  in  the  practice  of  a  pro- 
fession which  brought  him  into  intimate  acquaintance  with 
the  weakness  and  wickedness  of  men,  he  never  lost  his  con- 
fidence in  mankind,  and  never  judged  harshly  or  uncharitably. 

He  did  not  at  any  time  forecast  the  future  in  gloom,  but  in 
serene  and  cheerful  hope  ;  a  hope  founded  in  that  unwavering 
Christain  faith  which  animated  and  enriched  his  whole  life.  It 
is  only  six  months  since  he  expressed  to  the  speaker  his  con- 
viction that  he  was  becoming  an  old  man.  Before  that  he. 
seemed  as  young  in  his  feelings  as  any  of  us.  Up  to  the 
time  of  his  last  illness  he  attended  the  meetings  of  all  the 
societies  of  which  he  was  a  member;  and  through  his  illness 
there  was  always  a  cheerfulness  in  his  manner  and  speech, 
and  never  a  suggestion  of  gloom  or  discomfort. 

He  devoted  his  later  years,  after  a  brilliant  professional 
career,  to  works  of  charity  and  philanthropy, — a  beautiful  close 
to  a  noble  life. 

Judge  Hall  very  briefly  addressed  the  meeting,  and  ex- 
pressed his  hearty  concurrence  in  the  words  of  eulogy  which 
had  fallen  from  the  gentleman  who  had  spoken.  He  said  it 
was  nearly,  if  not  quite,  forty  years  since,  and  in  the  same 
room,  that  he  first  met  Judge  Skinner;  and  that  he  well  re- 
membered that  his  distinguished  learning,  eloquence  and 
ability  was,  even  then,  cheerfully  acknowledged  by  those  who 
were  familiar  with  Judge  Skinner's  forensic  efforts  ;  that  from 
that  time  he  had  been  no  stranger  to  Judge  Skinner's  high 
character  and  enviable  reputation,  and  had  since  been  asso- 
ciated with  him  in  different  relations  ;  and  that  his  more  inti- 
mate personal  intercourse  with  Judge  Skinner  enabled  him  to 
bear  willing  testimony  to  the  purity  of  his  life  and  the  excel- 
lence of  his  example.  That  he  was  perfectly  honest  and 
upright,  was  active  and  earnest  in  all  benevolent  and  useful 


29 

enterprises,  and  generous  and  noble  in  his  sympathies,  pur- 
poses and  conduct :  that  he  was  an  honor  to  our  common  hu- 
manity and  to  the  legal  profession  ;  and  that  the  profession 
most  honored  themselves  in  rendering  the  highest  honors  to 
his  memory. 

Hon.  James  O.  Putnam  paid  his  tribute  of  respect  to  the 
memory  of  the  deceased  in  appropriate  terms.  He  stated 
that  his  earliest  associations  were  connected  with  Judge  Skin- 
ner. He  felt  that  he  had  sustained  a  personal  loss  in  his 
death.  The  deceased  was  a  man  of  most  tender  sensibilities 
and  generous  appreciation.  He  hated  wrong  and  tyranny. 
For  forty  years  he  devoted  himself  to  the  most  arduous  du- 
ties of  his  profession,  and  in  the  closing  years  of  his  life  he 
identified  himself  with  public  institutions  directed  to  great 
good.  He  gave  the  last  ten  years  of  his  life  to  the  public. 
His  character  was  truly  worthy  of  imitation,  as  had  been  re- 
marked. The  latter  portion  of  his  life  among  us  was  a  fitting 
close  of  a  beautiful  career. 

After  a  few  remarks  by  Mr.  O.  Olney,  of  Nunda,  the  reso- 
lutions were  unanimously  adopted,  and  the  meeting"  adjourned. 


THE  BUFFALO  GENERAL  HOSPITAL. 

At  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Buffalo  General  Hospital,  the  following  resolutions  were 
passed  : 

Resolved^  That  in  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner,  the 
Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Buffalo  General  Hospital  has  lost  a 
faithful  and  efficient  presiding  officer ;  the  Hospital — an  active, 
earnest  and  generous  friend ;  and  that  this  Board  unites  with  the 
community,  at  large,  in-  mourning  the  loss  of  a  man  whose  life 
was  devoted,  for  many  years,  to  the  discharge  of  the  duties  and 
occupations  of  the  noble  philanthropist  and  Christian  gentleman. 


Resolved^  That  this  Board  would  respectfully  tender  to  the  widow 
of  Mr.  Skinner,  its  heartfelt  sympathies  in  her  bereavement,  and 
would  hereby  direct  the  Secretary  to  enter  these  resolutions  in 
the  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Board  and  send  a  copy  to 
Mrs.  Skinner. 

WM.  F.  MILLER, 

Secretary. 


BUFFALO  AND  ERIE  COUNTY  BIBLE  SOCIETY. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Buffalo  and  Erie  County  Bible 
Society,  held  June  20th,  1871,  the  following  resolutions 
were  submitted  and,  on  motion,  unanimously  adopted  : 

Whereas^  It  has  pleased  God  to  remove  from  his  sphere  of 
usefulness  in  this  world,  to  a  sure  reward  in  heaven,  our  lamented 
President,  the  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  hereby  extend  our  condolence  and  sympathy 
to  his  afflicted  widow  and  the  relatives.  Our  Board  feel  that  we 
have  parted  with  a  zealous  friend  and  a  wise  counsellor  in  the 
cause  of  Bible  distribution  in  this  city  and  county.  We  sincerely 
deplore  his  loss  as  a  public  and  private  calamity,  and  for  his 
many  Christian  virtues  he  will  be  cherishe<l  by  us  as  a  model 
worthy  of  emulation. 

Resolved,  That  this  memorial  be  recorded  in  our  minutes,  and 
that  a  copy  be  furnished  to  the  widow  of  our  deceased  brother, 
and  also  for  publication  in  our  daily  papers. 

SILAS  KINGSLEY, 

Chairman. 
JULIUS  WALKER, 

Secretary. 


{Extract  from  Secretary s  Report  at  the  Annual  Meeting.'\ 

secretary's  report. 
Mr.  President  :— The  last  annual  meeting  of   our  society  was 
held  on  the   19th  of  June,  1870,  and  the  business  meeting  on  the 
Monday  following,  when  the  i)resent  board  of  officers  were  chosen. 


31 

I  say  present,  but  we  have  to  make  the  exception  of  our  lamented 
President,  the  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner,  who  departed  this  Hfe  in 
the  spring  of  187 1. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  held  soon  after,  suitable  resolutions 
of  respect  were  passed  and  recorded  in  our  minutes.  It  is  due 
to  the  memory  of  the  deceased,  in  this  connection,  that  we  should 
accord  to  him  the  tribute  of  having  been  a  faithful  servant.  His 
relations  to  our  Board  were  pleasant,  and  he  won  our  confidence 
by  his  uniform  Christian  courtesy.  We  have  felt  the  loss  of  his 
presence  and  counsel  in  giving  direction  and  efficiency  to  the  work 
of  our  society. 

The  memory  of  such  a  life  and  example  will  continue  to  exert 
a  salutary  Christian  influence  on  the  living,  and  is  worthy  of  our 
emulation. 


BUFFALO  SAVINGS  BANK. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Bufifalo 
Savings  Bank,  held  yesterday,  the  following  resolutions 
were  unanimously  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Board  has  learned,  with  deep  regret  and  un- 
feigned sorrow,  the  decease  of  their  late  associate,  the  Hon.  John 
B.  Skinner. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  Judge  Skinner,  this  Board  has  lost 
an  able  adviser,  a  Trustee  of  large  experience  and  sound  judgment, 
conscientiously  attentive  to  his  duties,  and  ever  ready  to  devote  his 
time  and  talents  to  the  promotion  of  the  best  interests  of  this 
institution. 

Resolved,  That,  as  individuals,  we  are  deeply  sensible  of  the  loss 
we  have  sustained.  We  shall  miss  our  venerable  colleague,  not  only 
in  our  councils,  but  in  social  and  personal  intercourse,  where  his 
genial  and  kindly  nature  shone  conspicuous,  and  where  he  exhibited 
those  rare  qualities  and  Christian  graces,  which  not  only  won  our 
admiration,  but  warmly  attached  us  to  his  manly  and  noble  character. 


32 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  family  of  the  deceased  our  heart- 
felt sympathy  and  condolence  for  the  loss  they  have  sustained,  and 
that  we  will,  as  a  body,  attend  the  funeral  ceremonies. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  transmit  a  copy  of  these  resolutions 
to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 


BUFFALO  FEMALE  ACADEMY. 

Resolutions  passed  by  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Bufifalo 
Female  Academy,  June   15th,  1871  : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  recent  decease  of  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner 
this  Board  has  lost  one  of  its  most  esteemed  and  useful  members  ; 
the  friends  of  science  and  education,  a  most  earnest  and  efficient 
co-worker;  and  society  a  most  useful  citizen,  who  illustrated  and 
honored  his  Christian  profession  by  the  purity  of  his  life  and  the 
excellence  of  his  example. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  above  resolution  be  certified  by  the 
Secretary,  and  transmitted  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

(A  true  copy  from  the  records  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Buffalo 
Female  Academy.) 

A.  T.  CHESTER, 

Secretary. 


INGHAM  UNIVERSITY,  LE  ROY. 

The  Committee  appointed  to  draft  a  suitable  memorial 
on  the  death  of  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner  reported  as  follows  : 

It  having  pleased  our  Heavenly  Father  to  remove  by  death  from 
his  earthly  labors  our  late  highly  esteemed  associate,  Hon.  John  B. 
Skinner,  of  Buffalo,  we  deem  it  fitting  to  make  the  following  minute 
of  the  sense  of  the  Council  in  relation  to  this  sad  bereavement. 

Resolved,  i.  That  we  are  hereby  solemnly  impressed  with  the 
brevity  and  uncertainty  of  life,  and  reminded  that  we  live  even  in 
the  shadow  of  the  tomb. 


33 

2.  That  we  gratefully  recognise  and  cherish  the  memory  of  the 
personal  worth  of  our  departed  fellow-laborer  and  the  great  value  of 
his  services  in  the  cause  of  Christian  education. 

3.  That  while  we  address  ourselves  to  the  part  assigned  us  in  the 
work  of  life,  we  accept  the  lesson  conveyed  by  this  dispensation,  to 
do  with  renewed  diligence  and  zeal  what  our  hands  find  to  do  for 
Christ  and  His  Church,  and  the  rising  generation. 

4.  That  this  minute  go  on  the  records  of  Ingham  University,  and 
a  copy  of  the  same  be  transmitted  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

C.  H.  TAYLOR, 

Secretary. 


NEW  YORK  STATE  INSTITUTION  FOR  THE 
BLIND,  AT  BATAVIA. 

Batavia,  June  14th,  187 1. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  the  Trustees  of  this  Institu- 
tion, held  as  above,  the  death  of  the  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner,  our 
late   President,  having  been    announced,   the  following  reso- 
lutions were  adopted  : 

Resolved.,  That  by  the  decease  of  the  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner,  late 
President  of  this  Board,  the  Trustees  have  lost  a  valued  associate 
and  able  counsellor ;  the  Listitution  a  warm  and  devoted  friend,  and 
the  cause  of  virtue  and  education,  one  of  its  most  efficient  advocates 
and  promoters. 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  Board  transmit  a  copy  of 
these  resolutions  to  the  family  of  the  deceased. 

R.  BALLARD, 

Secretary. 


MEMORIAL  OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 
AT  WYOMING,  NEW  YORK. 

The  Session  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wyoming, 
N.  Y.,  at  its  first  meeting  after  the  death  of  Hon.  John  B. 
Skinner,  of  Buffalo,  adopted  the  following  memorial  : 


34 

In  this  place  Judge  Skinner  spent  the  greater  part  of  his  active 
Hfe.  Here  he  professed  the  Christian  faith  and  became  one  of  the 
active,  efficient  and  devoted  members  of  this  Church.  For  many 
years  he  was  a  member  of  this  Session,  and  we  bear  loving  and  will- 
ing testimony  to  the  faithfulness  with  which  he  discharged  his  private 
and  his  official  duties. 

Where  two  or  three  were  gathered  for  prayer  he  was  one,  and  the 
tenderness  and  warmth  of  his  devotions  were  an  inspiration  to  others 
— now  they  are  a  pleasing  and  blessed  memory. 

When  difficulties  were  to  be  removed,  he  was  wise  in  council  and 
efficient  in  action.  Liberal  in  his  contributions,  he  ministered  to  the 
wants  of  the  Church  of  which  he  was  an  overseer,  and  was  deeply 
interested  in  the  various  iields  of  Christian  benevolence,  and  although 
more  than  ten  years  have  passed  since  his  immediate  connection 
with  this  Church  terminated  by  his  removal  to  another  field  of  labor, 
he  continued  to  manifest  a  deep  interest  in  our  welfare  while  he 
lived. 

Having  known  Judge  Skinner  long  and  well,  it  is  our  duty  and 
pleasure  to  bear  testimony  to  the  excellence  of  his  Christian  char- 
acter and  example.  Dignified,  yet  courteous  and  affable,  his  presence 
was  always  a  restraint  upon  immorality  and  vice,  thus  exerting  a 
most  salutary  influence  upon  his  associates  in  business  and  society. 

His  early,  laborious  and  persistent  efforts  in  behalf  of  temperance 
deserve  to  be  distinctly  and  gratefully  acknowledged. 

As  a  Session  and  as  a  Church  we  deeply  sympathize  with  his 
bereaved  family  in  our  common  loss. 

We  trust  that  this  Providence  may  lead  us  all  to  consecrate  our- 
selves more  fully  to  the  service  of  Him  who  "  doeth  all  things  well," 
and  to  whom  we  should  look  for  support  in  all  our  weakness  and 

woe. 

HUGH  T.  BROOKS, 

O.  G.   KEITH, 


At  a  meeting  of  the  Session  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Wyoming,  held  Feb.  26,  1862  (soon  after  Mr.  S.  removed  to 
Bufifalo),  the  following  minute  was  unanimously  adopted  : 


35 

The  Session  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wyoming  in  parting 
from  the  Hon.  J.  B.  Skinner,  with  whom  for  many  years  they  have 
been  so  pleasantly  associated,  feel  constrained  to  express  the  deep 
regret  with  which  they  comply  with  his  request  for  a  letter  of  dis- 
mission. 

They  delight  to  bear  testimony  to  the  readiness  with  which,  at  all 
times,  he  gave  to  the  service  of  the  Church  his  eminent  abilities,  his 
means  and  his  influence.  They  rejoice  that  the  good  providence  of 
God  yet  spares  him  to  continue  his  usefulness  elsewhere,  and  would 
assure  him  that  their  affection  and  high  regard  shall  be  in  no  wise 
diminished  by  this  painful  separation  of  a  relation  so  intimate  and 
so  long  enduring. 

By  order  of  Session, 

J.  JONES, 

Moderator. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  PAPERS. 


OBITUARY— HON.  JOHN  B.  SKINNER. 

Another  of  our  venerable  citizens  has  gone  to  his  final 
home.  Although  the  sad  event  has  been  expected  for  some 
time,  the  announcement  that  our  venerable  fellow-townsman, 
Judge  Skinner,  is  no  more,  will  be  received  with  sharp 
sorrow  by  a  vast  number  of  the  people  of  Buffalo  and 
Western  New  York,  and,  indeed,  by  people  throughout  the 
State  and  nation. 

John  B.  Skinner,  son  of  Benjamin  Skinner,  of  Williams- 
town,  Berkshire  county,  Mass.,  was  born  July  23d,  1799, 
in  a  house  erected  by  Col.  Simonds,  his  maternal  grand- 
father, on  the  bank  of  the  Hoosack  river.  His  paternal 
grandfather  was  the  Rev.  Thomas  Skinner,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  University,  and  during  his  whole  ministerial  life, 
pastor  of  the  Congregational  church  at  Westchester,  Conn. 
His  father  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Williamstown  ; 
assisted  in  the  erection  of  Williams  College,  and  was  ever 
liberal  and  efficient  in  support  of  the  interests  of  the  Church 
and  every  Christian  and  benevolent  enterprise.  John  B. 
graduated  from  Williams  in  1818;  read  law  with  the  Hon. 
David  Buel,  of  Troy,  and  after  attending  a  course  of  lectures 
at  the  law  school  of  Judges  Reeves  and  Gould,  at  Litchfield, 


37 

Conn.,  we  understand  that  he  spent  some  time  in  Gov. 
Marcy's  office,  but  whether  before  or  after  his  admission  to 
the  Bar,  we  do  not  learn.  Between  young  Skinner  and  the 
Governor  there  existed  a  warm  friendship  which  only  ter- 
minated with  the  death  of  the  latter.  He  was  admitted  to 
the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  August, 
1821.  His  advantages  were  of  the  highest  order;  the  young 
student  knew  how  to  use  them  for  what  they  were  worth; 
and  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  profession,  high  aspir- 
ations and  a  determination  to  succeed,  he  entered  upon  his 
career  as  a  lawyer.  He  commenced  practice  in  the  town  of 
Middlebury,  near  the  centre  of  the  old  county  of  Genesee,  at 
present  known  as  the  village  of  Wyoming,  in  the  county  of 
the  same  name — both  named  by  him. 

His  thorough  knowledge  of  the  law,  his  indefatigable  in- 
dustry, his  enthusiasm  and  eloquence,  and  genial  manners 
soon  attracted  attention,  and  business  flowed  in  upon  him 
from  the  neighboring  counties,  which  continued  and  increased 
until  he  retired  from  the  practice.  In  the  year  [826,  when 
the  two  political  parties  were  under  the  great  leaders  De  Witt 
Clinton  and  Martin  Van  Buren,  without  his  solicitation  he 
was  nominated  for  the  Assembly,  and  although  the  opposing 
party  had  been  in  the  ascendancy  for  years,  he  was  elected  by 
an  overwhelming  majority.  He  was  re-elected  the  two  suc- 
ceeding years,  without  opposition,  a  compliment  which  had 
never  before,  and  has  never  since,  been  paid  to  any  individual 
in  the  district.  As  a  member  of  the  Legislature,  he  was 
among  the  most  prominent.  He  was  Chairman  of  the  Com- 
mittee upon  Literature  and  of  many  important  select  commit- 
tees ;  and  the  Journals  of  the  House  and  the  political  history 
of  the  period  supply  ample  evidence  as  to  how  admirably  he 
discharged  his  duties.  In  the  year  1838,  he  was,  at  the  solici- 
tation of  the  Bar,  nominated  by  Gov.  Marcy  and  unanimously 
confirmed  by  the  Senate,  Circuit  Judge  and  Vice  Chancellor 


38 

of  the  Eighth  District.  In  1846,  he  was  appointed  District 
Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  which  office  he  held 
until  the  change  of  the  Constitution  abolished  the  office.     In 

1852,  he  was,  with  the  Hon.  Horatio  Seymour,  appointed 
State  delegate  to  the  Baltimore  Convention,  which  nominated 
Gen.  Pierce  for  President;  and  the  next  year  one  of  the  Presi- 
dential Electors  to  cast  for  him  the  vote  of  the  State.     In 

1853,  he  was  appointed  Attorney  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Northern  District  of  New  York,  an  office  of  much  responsi- 
bility and  greatly  sought  for,  but  which,  owing  to  his  business 
in  the  State  Courts,  he  respectfully  declined. 

In  1830,  Mr.  Skinner  was  married  to  Catharine,  only 
daughter  of  Richard  M.  Stoddard,  one  of  the  most  prominent 
of  the  early  settlers  of  Western  New  York.  This  amiable 
and  accomplished  lady  died  in  1833.  He  was  again  married 
in  1837  to  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  Henry  G.  Walker,  of  Wy- 
oming, who  bore  him  one  daughter,  his  only  child,  the  late 
Mrs.  Josiah  Letchworth. 

At  an  early  period  of  his  residence  at  Wyoming,  Judge 
Skinner  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  he 
was  soon  appointed  an  elder,  and  his  liberal  and  active  eflbrts 
contributed  much  to  raise  this  Church  from  a  feeble  begin- 
ning to  a  position  of  influence  in  that  community.  He  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  moral  and  religious  progress  of  an 
active  and  earnest  people,  and  at  the  time  of  his  removal 
from  the  county  was  President  of  the  Bible,  Temperance  and 
Colonization  Societies  ;  and  it  may  be  truly  said  of  him  that 
few  men  have  been  more  widely  known  or  have  exerted  a 
more  salutary  influence. 

In  the  year  i860,  he  removed  to  this  city,  having  previously 
secured  one  of  the  finest  locations  here  ;  and  since  that  time 
he  has  enjoyed,  in  comparative  retiracy,  the  fruits  of  an  active 
and  laborious  life.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ; 


39 

President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  New  York  State 
Asylum  for  the  BHnd,  an  institution  recently  established  at 
Batavia,  and  one  of  the  noblest  charities  of  the  age  ;  President 
of  the  State  Normal  School,  in  this  city ;  Vice-President  of 
the  Reformatory  at  Warsaw ;  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Buffalo  Female  Academy,  and  also  a  member 
of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the  Buffalo  City  Savings  Bank. 

His  broad  and  active  benevolence  invited  the  manifold 
responsibilities  of  a  charitable  and  humane  order  which 
pressed  upon  him  ;  and  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  incident 
to  them  he  was  gratifying  his  very  highest  ambition. 

As  an  adv^ocate,  few  men  in  the  State  enjoyed  a  higher 
reputation  than  Judge  Skinner.  The  known  purity  and  up- 
rightness of  his  character,  his  comprehensive  knowledge  of 
men,  his  great  readiness  and  self-command,  combined  with  an 
earnest  and  impressive  manner,  enchained  the  attention  while 
it  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  a  jury,  and  he  very  rarely  failed 
to  carry  them  with  him.  As  a  judge  he  was  clear,  quick  in 
apprehension,  and  prompt  in  decision,  and  tliese  characteris- 
tics rendered  him  useful,  reliable  and  popular  on  the  bench. 
Indeed,  there  were  no  qualities  wanting  in  Judge  Skinner  to 
make  him  the  consummate  lawyer  and  the  able  jurist.  His 
mind  eminently  fitted  him  for  statesmanship,  but  he  fairly 
shrank  from  public  life,  and  whatever  of  political  prominence 
he  had,  he  owed  first  to  an  ardent  devotion  to  the  principles 
of  the  Democratic  party,  and  secondly  to  an  intense  desire  on 
the  part  of  those  who  knew  him  to  compel  him  to  act  in 
public  life.  Undoubtedly  the  most  reasonable  explanation 
of  his  avoidance  of  everything  that  could  be  interpreted  to 
mean  political  ambition,  was  his  great  love  for  his  profession 
and  his  undying  attachment  to  persons,  places  and  things. 
It  is  said  of  him,  that  if  he  owned  an  old  horse  it  was  to  him 
the  best  horse  in  the  world  and  worthy  of  his  kindest  and 
most  thoughtful  attentions,  and  he  never  wished  to  part  with  it. 


40 

The  same  constancy  was  expressed  toward  everything  he 
loved,  and  such  men  out  of  their  habitat  are  never  truly  them- 
selves. He  was  a  man  of  the  very  strongest  convictions  ;  and 
as  a  Democrat  of  the  old  school  and  a  communicant  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  his  faith  was  unqualified  and  unwaver- 
ing. The  religious  element  of  his  character  was  largely  un- 
folded, and  with  an  active  and  profound  benevolence  he  was 
a  thoroughly  Christian  gentleman.  He  was  catholic  and  lib- 
eral in  his  views  ;  was  decidedly  an  optimist,  and  viewed 
human  nature,  with  all  its  shortcomings,  with-  the  kindliest 
eyes  ;  and  his  masculine  will  and  power  were  so  blended  with 
exquisite  tenderness  as  to  present  him  as  the  incarnation  of 
strength  and  delicacy.  He  has  always  been  known  for  his 
fine  sensibilities,  and  equally  well  for  the  irresistible  power  he 
exerted  when  arrayed  against  a  bad  man  or  a  great  wrong. 
Whenever  he  was  compelled  to  apply  the  lash,  he  threw  the 
whole  strength  of  his  nature  into  the  business  and  was  mer- 
ciless ;  but  no  appeal  to  his  heart  was  ever  made  in  vain. 
Through  the  iron  of  his  character  ran  a  vein  of  silver,  and  he 
was  known  of  men  to  be  as  truly  good  as  he  was  nobly  strong. 
In  his  later  years  he  filled  the'  term  "venerable"  to  perfec- 
tion, and  the  radiance  of  his  pure  and  lofty  life,  his  fidelity  to 
principle,  his  genuine  manliness,  his  large  benevolence,  and 
his  loving  and  lovable  nature,  should  keep  his  memory  green 
ioxtvQx.  — Buffalo  Courier,  June  8,  iSyi. 


OBITUARY— DEATH  OF  HON.  JOHN  B.  SKINNER. 

Another  of  our  aged  and  best  known  citizens  has  made 
answer  to  the  death  summons.  Tuesday  evening,  after  a  some- 
what protracted  illness,  the  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner  expired  at 
his  residence.  No.  155  North  street,  closing  an  unusually  busy 


41 

and  useful  life  of  nearly  seventy-two  years.  His  career  is 
honorably  and  prominently  associated  with  the  legal  profes- 
sion in  Western  New  York.  Offices  of  high  respectability 
were  entrusted  to  him,  and  he  performed  the  duties  pertaining 
to  them  with  spotless  integrity  and  marked  ability.  He  was 
identified  with  almost  every  benevolent  and  educational  pub- 
lic enterprise  in  this  section  of  the  State,  devoting,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  sympathies  of  a  generous  heart,  his  time  and 
money  freely  in  aid  of  anything  designed  for  the  extension 
of  charity  to  the  poor  and  enlightenment  to  the  masses. 
During  the  years  of  his  life  in  Buffalo  he  held  the  respect 
and  confidence  of  our  people  in  the  fullest  degree,  not  Avealth 
alone  but  excellences  of  character  securing  him  high  profes- 
sional and  social  standing. — Buffalo  Express,  June  8,  iSyi. 


OBITUARY— HON.  JOHN  B.  SKINNER. 

We,  yesterday  afternoon,  in  a  brief  article,  gave  publicity 
to  the  deeply-regretted  fact  of  the  death  of  the  venerable 
Judge  John  B.  Skinner,  of  this  city.  The  demise  of  one  so 
well  known  and  highly  esteemed  in  this  community,  and 
throughout  the  State,  calls  for  more  than  a  passing  notice  at 
our  hands. 

The  deceased  was  born  at  the  old  homestead  in  Williams- 
town,  Mass.,  July  23d,  1799,  and  was  the  .son  of  Benjamin 
Skinner,  Esq.  His  father  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers  of 
Williamstown  and  prominently  identified  with  the  foundation 
of  Williams  College.  The  late  Judge  was  a  graduate  of 
Williams  College,  in  the  class  of  1818.  After  graduating,  he 
commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Hon.  David  Buel, 
of  Troy,  and  subsequently  attended  a  course  of  lectures  at 
Litchfield,  Conn.,  where  he  had  the  sound  teachings  of  Judges 


42 

Gould  and  Reeves.  For  some  time  he  also  studied  in  Gov. 
William  L.  Marcy's  office,  and  the  friendship  engendered  at 
that  time  was  lasting  and  sincere.  In  the  year  1821  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch  was  admitted  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  this 
State.  He  first  entered  upon  practice  in  Middlebury,  Gen- 
esee county,  now  known  as  Wyoming.  His  early  career  as  a 
lawyer  was  attended  with  success,  and  his  untiring  industry 
and  urbanity  of  disposition  gave  satisfaction  to  his  clients  and 
won  the  love  of  all  who  came  in  contact  with  him. 

In  1826,  he  was  nominated  by  Democratic  constituents  for 
the  Assembly,  and  was  elected  by  a  large  majority.  This 
was  at  the  time  when  the  Clinton  and  Van  Buren  factions 
were  earnestly  opposing  each  other  in  this  State.  He  was 
elected  for  the  two  succeeding  terms,  a  deserved  compliment 
and  of  which  he  justly  felt  proud.  When  in  the  Legislature 
he  was  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Literature  and  other 
important  select  committees.  In  1838,  he  was  nominated  by 
Gov.  Marcy,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  Bar,  as  Circuit  Judge 
and  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  Eighth  District.  His  nomination 
was  confirmed  by  the  Senate.  In  1846,  he  was  appointed 
District  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  which  office 
he  held  until  the  change  of  the  Constitution  abolished  the 
office.  In  1852,  he  was,  with  the  Hon.  Horatio  Seymour,  ap- 
pointed State  delegate  to  the  Baltimore  Convention,  which 
nominated  Franklin  Pierce  for  President ;  and  the  next  year 
one  of  the  Presidential  Electors  to  cast  for  him  the  vote  of 
the  State.  In  1853,  he  was  appointed  Attorney  of  the  United 
States  for  the  Northern  District  of  New  York,  an  office  of 
much  responsibility,  which,  owing  to  his  business  in  the  State 
Courts,  he  declined  to  accept. 

In  1830,  Judge  Skinner  was  married  to  Catharine,  only 
daughter  of  Richard  M.  Stoddard,  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Western  New  York.  This  esteemed  lady  died  in  1833. 
He  was  again  married  in  1837  ^o  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  Henry 


43 

G.  Walker,  of  Wyoming.  Their  only  offspring  was  the  late 
Mrs.  Josiah  Letch  worth. 

As  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  with  which  he 
identified  himself  as  an  earnest  and  able  worker,  his  influence 
for  good  was  great,  and  his  loss  is  irreparable. 

He  came  to  Buffalo  to  live  in  i860,  and  since  that  time  had 
resided  at  the  fine  place  on  North  street,  well  known  as  one 
of  the  most  desirable  locations  in  the  city.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  was  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  ;  President  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of 
the  New  York  State  Asylum  for  the  Blind,  an  institution 
recently  established  at  Batavia  ;  President  of  the  State  Nor- 
mal School,  in  this  city ;  Vice-President  of  the  Reformatory 
at  Warsaw ;  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  the 
Buffalo  Female  Academy,  and  also  a  member  of  the  Board 
of  Trustees  of  the  Buffalo  City  Savings  Bank.  He  was 
prominently  identified  with  the  Erie  County  Bible  Associa- 
tion ;  and  in  the  positions  of  President  of  the  Buffalo  General 
Hospital,  and  one  of  the  Board  of  Tru.stees  of  that  institution, 
he  exerted  a  great  influence.  He  was  faithful  and  efficient  in 
the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  connection  with  this  noble  insti- 
tution, and  labored  as  long  as  he  had  strength.  The  Board 
of  Trustees  feel  that  his  place  cannot  be  filled.  No  one  of 
our  citizens  has  done  more  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the 
Hospital. 

To  properly  eulogize  a  character  so  estimable  as  the  lament- 
ed deceased  would  be  a  difficult  task.  Natures  like  his  are 
like  the  sun,  which  sheds  its  radiance  on  all  around.  Such  a 
life  is  of  itself  an  example.  Pure  in  his  public  and  social  inter- 
course, broad  and  liberal  in  his  views  of  humanity,  his  daily 
walks  were  in  the  direction  of  the  greatest  good  ;  nor  time 
nor  occasion  prevented  him  from  using  his  influence  where  it 
was  most  needed.  His  mental  acquirements  were  great,  and 
despite  the  engrossing  cares  of  duty,  and  the  demand  upon 


44 

his  time,  his  heart  was  always  kind,  and  his  sympathy  gushed 
forth  like  a  well  spring  when  any  direct  appeal  to  his  human- 
ity was  made.  The  young  loved  Judge  Skinner,  for  he  ever 
took  a  kindly  interest  in  their  welfare.  Little  deeds  of  good- 
ness and  expressions  of  solicitude  from  the  aged  to  those  of 
youthful  years,  take  their  place  in  memory's  tenderest  recol- 
lections, and  endure  with  perennial  freshness.  So  that  not 
only  those  more  nearly  of  the  age  of  the  late  Judge  revere 
and  love  his  memory,  but  many  of  our  city's  youth  deeply 
feel  the  loss  of  so  good  a  man.  He  has  gone  to  rest  in  the 
ripeness  of  age.  Few  die  more  worthy  of  the  crown  of  the 
blessed.  A  pure  spirit  has  ascended  to  meet  the  reward 
of  a  life  well  spent,  full  of  good  deeds  and  faithful  to  the  end. 
There  will  be  a  meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Bar  of 
Erie  County,  at  the  General  Term  rooms,  old  Court  House, 
this  afternoon  at  five  o'clock,  to  take  action  in  reference  to 
the  decease  of  Hon.  Jno.  B.  Skinner. — Buffalo  Commercial 
Advertiser,  June  8,  iSyi. 


HON.  J.  B.  SKINNER. 

Messrs.  Editors,— Your  last  issue  contains  a  brief  but 
fitting  notice  of  this  eminent  jurist  and  useful  church  officer. 
The  writer  well  says  that  "  he  deserves  more  than  a  passing 
notice,"  and  we  anticipate  the  appearance  of  an  "  in  memoriam 
discourse "  from  his  pastor.  Rev.  Alexander  McLean.  His 
public  life  covered  a  period  of  great  historic  interest  in 
Western  New  York,  with  the  events  of  which  he  had  much 
to  do.  A  gentleman  of  cultivated  mind,  studious  habits, 
legal  acumen,  courtesy  of  manner,  flexibility  of  voice,  and 
power  to  awaken  emotion  at  his  pleasure,  his  services  were 
often  secured  in  cases  where  the  heart  was  to  be  moved  as 


45 

well  as  the  intellect  informed.  While  these  qualities  made 
him  a  man  of  power  in  the  court  room,  they  also  contributed 
to  the  commanding  place  he  held  in  the  religious  meeting 
and  our  ecclesiastical  courts.  My  acquaintance  with  the 
deceased  went  back  a  score  of  years,  while  my  respect  and 
affection  increased  to  the  last,  in  common  with  multitudes 
throughout  this  region. 

The  writer  in  the  Observer  speaks  of  Judge  Skinner  as 
"  holding  several  important  positions  at  the  time  of  his  death 
— as  President,  Trustee,  Director,  &c. ;  "  but  there  is  another 
which  was  to  the  deceased  one  of  the  most  endearing  of  his 
life — Trustee  of  Geneseo  Academy.  So  soon  as  he  learned 
the  religious  character  of  this  institution,  the  conversions 
constantly  occurring  within  its  walls,  the  additions  made 
from  its  alumni  to  the  ministry  (home  and  foreign),  the  happi- 
ness it  was  sending  to  hearts  and  homes,  he  became  a  munifi- 
cent donor  to  its  treasury,  a  judicious  counsellor  and  warm- 
hearted advocate,  wherever  he  could  present  its  merits  and 
plead  its  claims.  For  all  this,  we  of  Western  New  York 
remember  him  with  grateful  affection.  W. 

— Neiv    York  Observer,  June,  iSji. 


THE  LATE  JUDGE  SKINNER. 

New  York,  June  19,  1871. 
Editor  Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser, — An  inti- 
mate acquaintance  and  friend  of  the  late  Hon.  John  B. 
Skinner,  I  heard  of  his  death  a  few  days  since  with  the  most 
painful  emotions.  I  became  acquainted  with  him  in  the  year 
1839,  and  have  seen  much  of  him,  at  times,  since  that  period, 
under  circumstances  of  the  most  unreserved  private  friendship. 


46 

There  are  sentiments  and  feelings  in  this  world  too  deep  and 
too  sacred  for  pubhc  utterance.  Those  that  I  entertain  for 
my  departed  friend  are  of  this  character,  and  I  shall  not, 
therefore,  attempt  to  express  them,  were  it  even  otherwise 
proper  to  do  so. 

With  regard  to  his  public  character  the  same  reticence  is 
not  required,  nor,  in  his  case,  whose  character  was  in  so  many 
respects  an  exalted  model  for  others,  is  it  either  expedient  or 
desirable.  His  professional  morality  was  of  the  most  elevated 
as  well  as  discriminating  character.  While  this  fact  is  con- 
spicuously recognized  by  the  several  speakers  at  the  recent 
meeting  of  the  members  of  the  Bar  of  Erie  County,  and  also 
in  the  obituary  notices  that  have  been  taken  of  him,  there  are 
some  special  exemplifications  of  this  trait  of  his  character 
which  deserve  special  mention,  not  merely  because  they  are 
creditable  to  him,  but  also  because  of  the  beneficial  influence 
they  will  exert  upon  others,  especially  the  younger  members 
of  the  profession.  It  is  well  known  to  all  his  friends  and 
acquaintances  in  Wyoming  and  adjoining  counties,  where  his 
ordinary  professional  services  were  chiefly  called  into  requisi- 
tion, that  it  was  his  habitual  custom,  whenever  called  upon 
for  advice  and  counsel,  in  all  civil  cases,  to  make  a  serious 
effort  to  bring  about  an  amicable  settlement,  and  this  wholly 
without  reference  to  any  real  or  supposed  advantages  to  accrue 
to  himself  by  an  opposite  course.  Especially  was  this  true  of 
his  immediate  neighbors.  He  was  the  true  and  unselfish 
friend  of  them  all  ;  preventing  by  his  manly,  Christian  course 
much  of  that  petty  litigation  which  is  so  rife  in  some  com- 
munities— many  of  those  heartburnings  and  neighborhood 
jealousies  which  are  too  often,  under  similar  circumstances, 
fostered  and  encouraged. 

Early  in  his  professional  career  he  prescribed  to  himself  the 
rule  never  to  undertake  a  case  as  counsel  for  plaintiff  unless 
his  client  had,  in  his  estimation,  after  a  full  understanding  of 


47 

the  matter,  either  law  or  equity  on  his  side.  It  is  doubtful 
whether  he  ever  consciously  departed  in  a  single  instance  from 
this  rule.  The  intensity  of  his  personal  attachments  may  at 
times  have  overpowered  his  judgment,  but,  if  so,  they  were 
exceptional  cases  ;  so  rare  indeed  that  they  proved  the  truth 
of  the  rule  he  laid  down  for  himself  That  he  adhered  scrupu- 
lously and  religiously  to  the  rule  is  well  known,  and  that  too 
under  many  circumstances  immediately  disadvantageous, 
pecuniarily,  to  himself.  Such  a  course  as  this  could  not  fail 
in  the  end  to  give  him  both  influence  and  power  in  the  com- 
munity where  he  lived,  and  co-extensive  with  his  professional 
engagements.  His  great  influence  with  both  court  and  jury 
was  due  primarily  perhaps  to  his  admitted  legal  abilities  and 
acquirements  ;  but  secondarily  certainly  to  the  fact  of  his 
rigid  adherence  to  the  rule  above  indicated.  His  example  in 
this  respect  is  too  valuable  not  to  be  considered,  and  it  may 
safely  be  commended  to  universal  imitation.  Its  public  im- 
portance will,  I  trust,  prove  to  the  immediate  relatives  of  the 
deceased  a  sufficient  apology  for  this  intrusion  of  an  attached 
friend.  W.  L.  B. 


FROM  A   LETTER   OF   THE  REV.  R.   H.    NASSAU, 
MISSIONARY  IN  WESTERN  AFRICA. 

Of  Judge  Skinner's  public  life  I  know  only  as  a  stranger 
reads  or  hears.  I  do  not  think  of  him  thus.  I  see  him  as  he 
was  in  his  home  life. 

Looking  across  the  years  and  trying  to  bridge  the  miles  of 
ocean  between  Africa  and  America,  I  have  often  rested,  as  on 
a  beautiful  picture,  in  the  memory  of  a  cherished  acquaint- 
ance with  Judge  Skinner  at  home. 

I  remember  that  in  the  Spring  and  Summer  of  1859,  while 
on  a  visit  to  my  brother,  Rev.  J.  E.  Nassau,  at  Warsaw,  Judge 


48 

Skinner  came  from  Wyoming  as  committee  of  the  Church 
Session,  to  invite  me  to  the  Wyoming  pulpit.  The  roads 
were  very  heavy  with  mud  and  the  late  Spring  rain  was  cold. 
I  recall  his  paternal  care  of  me  in  the  wrappings  of  the  car- 
riage he  was  driving.  And  not  more  warmly  than  this 
thoughtful  care  glowed  the  warm  wood  fire  on  the  hospitable 
hearth  of  his  pleasant  home,  when,  during  the  few  weeks  in 
which  I  supplied  the  pulpit,  I  was  admitted  within  the 
charmed  precincts  of  his  family  circle. 

His  well-stored  mind  made  association  with  him  not  simply 
a  privilege  but  a  positive  pleasure.  His  books  were  his 
friends,  and  his  conversation  was  not  labored,  or  pedantic, 
or  an  offensive  exhibition  of  acquisitions. 

I  was  a  young  man,  just  graduate  of  the  Theological  Sem- 
inary ;  but  he,  covering  by  his  courtesy  the  difference  in  our 
years,  made  me  feel  during  those  talks  in  his  carriage,  or  in 
the  parlor,  on  the  veranda,  or  under  the  trees,  as  if  both  were 
recalling  reminiscences  of  travel,  or  history,  or  character,  or 
art,  which  we  had  each  seen,  known,  or  had  a  part  in. 

His  taste  gratified  itself  and  those  around  him  in  his  rural 
home,  by  gathering  to  it  whatever  was  best  and  truly  beauti- 
ful, not  what  was  simply  expensive  or  gaudy.  While  still  a 
student  at  Princeton,  riding  one  vacation  through  Wyoming, 
I  had  noticed  the  simple  beauty  and  delicate  taste  of  the 
grounds  enclosing  the  house  and  office  (both  literally  embow- 
ered in  foliage),  which,  two  years  later,  I  learned  to  know  as 
Judge  Skinner's  residence.  He  took  almost  a  child's  pleas- 
ure in  watching  the  growth  of  his  young  trees,  and  in  point- 
ing out  the  arrangement  of  plants  with  reference  to  harmon}' 
of  colors  in  the  flower  gardens. 

I  remember  so  distinctly  his  trying  to  straighten  a  bruised 
daisy  among  others  planted  on  the  border  of  a  sunny  slope, 
a  favorite  spot  of  his  tenderly  loved  and  accomplished 
daughter  Mary,  afterwards  Mrs.  J.  Letchworth. 


49 

Now  that  they  are  both  "  under  the  daisies,"  I  write  these 
few  hnes  at  the  promptings  of  an  attached  and  grateful 
memory. 

A  i'ew  months  ago,  on  revisiting  Wyoming  after  twelve 
years'  absence,  I  sought  Judge  Skinner's  former  residence. 
The  spot  of  course  I  could  not  forget,  but  I  hesitated  for  a 
moment  as  to  the  house.  The  Autumn  winds  had  laid  bare 
the  trees — no  little  winding  paths — no  daisy  borders.  I 
knocked  at  the  door,  intending  to  ask  if  I  might  again  enter 
the  parlor  that  had  once  been  so  genial.  There  was  no  re- 
sponse, and  I  did  not  regret  it,  for  the  contrast  would  have 
left  a  painful  memory.  Passing  down  the  gravelled  walk  and 
out  the  gate,  I  remembered  that  one  beautiful  summer  night 
I  had  stood  there  with  him,  our  thoughts  led  up  to  God  and 
back  again  to  earth.  He  was  always  sympathetic — I  had 
never  seen  him  sad  :  but  now,  in  a  voice  tremulous  with  emo- 
tion, he  asked  why  the  beautiful  on  earth  was  so  often  sad.  I 
rejoice  for  him  that  he  has  gone  where  all  is  beauty  in  perfec- 
tion, and  where  sadness  never  comes. 

R.  H.  NASSAU. 


MEMORIAL  PAPER 

READ  BEFORE  THE  BUFFALO  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY, 
FEBRUARY  24,  1873,  BY  HON.  JAMES  O.  PUTNAM. 


Lawyers  are  said  to  have  brief  histories.  So  many  early 
struggles,  so  many  contests  before  courts  and  juries  over  ques- 
tions of  a  narrow  interest,  and  then  an  end.  Unless  called  to 
important  public  positions,  and  thus  his  life  becomes  identified 
with  large  public  interests,  it  is  certainly  true,  the  lawyer  of 
the  highest  professional  reputation  leaves  little  material  for 
the  biographer.  The  life  of  Judge  Skinner,  eminent  as  it  was 
in  his  chosen  profession,  offers  no  exception  to  this  rule.  His 
whole  career,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  experience  in  the 
State  Legislature,  while  he  was  yet  a  young  man,  was  of  un- 
surpassed constancy  to  his  profession.  This  devotion,  how- 
ever, was  not  at  the  expense  of  much  public  service,  through 
his  connection  with  religious,  educational  and  charitable  insti- 
tutions, while  his  personal  character  for  nearly  half  a  century 
was  a  recognized  power  in  the  State.  But  because  he  was  so 
eminent  in  his  profession,  I  regret  that  the  office  of  preparing 
the  memorial  paper  for  the  Historical  Society  was  not  de- 
volved upon  some  one  who  was  intimately  associated  with  his 
professional  life,  for  I  can  speak  only  of  his  professional 
reputation.     My  embarrassment  is  somewhat  relieved  by  the 


51 

suggestion  of  the  committee  that  I  supplement  my  sketch 
from  other  intelhgent  and  appreciative  sources. 

John  B.  Skinner  was  born  in  WiUiamstown,  Massachusetts, 
July  23,  1799.  His  family  represented  the  highest  charac- 
ter and  culture  of  New  England.  Col.  Simonds,  his  maternal 
grandfather,  was  distinguished  for  his  patriotic  services  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  and  his  honorable  fame  is  one  of  the 
cherished  local  traditions  of  Berkshire.  His  paternal  grand- 
father was  the  Reverend  Thomas  Skinner,  who  was  educated 
at  Harvard  University,  studied  for  the  ministry,  and  was 
settled  for  life  over  the  Congregational  Church  of  Middleton, 
Connecticut.  His  father.  Deacon  Benjamin  Skinner,  was 
distinguished  in  his  time  for  his  devotion  to  religious  and 
educational  interests.  He  was  one  of  the  early  friends  of 
Williams  College,  where  his  sons  were  educated.  His  son, 
John  B.,  graduated  in  181 8.  After  graduation  he  entered  the 
law  office  of  Hon.  Daniel  Ball,  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  where  he 
formed  a  life-long  friendship  with  his  fellow  student,  the  late 
Governor  Marcy.  He  completed  his  preparatory  legal  studies 
at  the  then  celebrated  law  school  of  Judges  Gould  and 
Reeves,  at  Litchfield,  Conn.  He  was  admitted  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  State,  in  August,  1821. 

In  about  the  year  1821  he  sought  the  then  land  of  promise, 
for  New  England  enterprise  and  adventure.  Western  New 
York.  Wyoming,  in  the  town  of  Middlebury,  county  of 
Genesee,  which  he  made  his  residence,  was  but  a  hamlet,  with 
little  promise,  we  should  say,  for  a  brilliant  professional 
career.  Yet,  although  large  inducements  were  often  presented 
him  to  remove  to  more  ambitious  social  and  business  centres, 
he  resisted  every  importunity  to  change  his  residence  until 
his  retirement  from  the  practice  of  his  profession.  His 
success,  solid  and  brilliant,  was  assured  from  the  first.  His 
industry,  his  fidelity  to  professional  trusts,  his  learning  and 
his  marvelous  power  before  juries,  gave  him  a  leadership  at 


52 

the  circuits  which  he  never  lost.  The  jury  trial  was  the 
favorite  theatre  of  his  professional  contests,  and  it  was  as  the 
advocate  that  he  was  without  a  peer.  The  methods  of  con- 
ducting litigation  in  his  time  differed  from  the  present.  Then 
the  great  object  was  to  secure  a  verdict  from  the  twelve  men. 
On  their  decision  hung  the  issues  of  life  and  death  and  fortune. 
This  made  the  counsel  who  could  carry  the  jury,  whether  by 
magic  or  storm,  an  indispensable  ally.  Appeals  were  compara- 
tively rare.  Now-a-days  when  the  jury  in  so  many  trials  is 
but  an  incident,  and  law,  as  has  been  said  with  much  humor 
and  some  wisdom,  is  the  power  of  decision  by  the  last  judge 
that  can  hear  the  case,  the  eloquent  advocate  holds  a  position 
less  relatively  important  in  the  trial  of  causes.  But  Judge 
Skinner  was  learned  as  a  lawyer,  as  well  as  eloquent  as  an 
advocate,  and  it  was  this  rare  combination  that  gave  him  a 
position  so  distinguished  before  the  courts.  This  sketch  would 
fail  of  a  proper  presentation  of  his  professional  character,  if, 
as  I  have  already  suggested,  I  was  unable  to  present  the  fair 
estimate  of  him  by  some  of  his  professional  cotemporaries 
and  associates.  At  a  meeting  of  the  Bar  of  Erie  County, 
convened  to  give  some  expression  to  its  sentiment  on  the 
occasion  of  his  death,  were  several  appreciative  addresses. 

Ex-President  Fillmore,  in  the  course  of  his  opening  remarks 
as  chairman  of  the  meeting,  said  : 

"  My  acquaintance  commenced  with  Mr.  Skinner  in  1829,  when 
he  and  I  were  both  members  of  the  Assembly,  That  was  my  first 
year,  but  I  think  it  was  his  third  year,  and  he  had  then  an  enviable 
reputation  for  so  young  a  man  in  that  distinguished  body  as  yet  free 
from  the  suspicion  of  bribery,  and  a,dorned  by  the  talents  of  such 
men  as  John  C.  Spencer,  Erastus  Root,  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  Frank 
Granger,  and  of  others.  The  revision  of  our  statutes,  the  great  work 
v/hich  did  so  much  to  methodise  and  relieve  them  from  the  cumbrous 
language  and  accumulated  contradictions  and  inconsistencies  of 
years,  was  then  just  completed,  and  in  that  great  work  Judge  Skin- 
ner bore  a  conspicuous  part.     I  know  that  he  was  listened  to  with 


53 

confidence  and  respect,  and  no  meliiber  of  the  House  seemed  to 
exert  a  more  salutary  influence.  My  subsequent  acquaintance  with 
him  was  mainly  at  the  Bar.  Here  he  was  distinguished  for  his  legal 
arguments  and  forensic  eloquence.  I  have  often  felt  a  tremor  of 
anxiety  when  I  have  had  to  meet  him.  He  was  a  man  religiously 
devoted  to  the  interest  of  his  client,  without  even  compromising  his 
own  conscience  or  dignity.  He  prepared  his  case  with  great  labor 
and  assiduity,  and  whatever  could  be  said  in  favor  of  his  client's 
interest  he  presented  with  great  clearness  and  force,  and  when  that 
was  done  he  conceived  he  had  discharged  his  professional  duty,  and 
he  patiently  waited  the  result.  The  highest  encomium  that  can  ever 
be  passed  upon  a  man  of  his  profession  may  with  great  propriety 
be  passed  upon  him,  and  that  is,  he  was  a  learned,  conscientious 
lawyer." 

From  Hon.  James  R.  Doolittle,  late  U.  S.  Senator,  of  Wis- 
consin, I  have  received  the  following  note  : 

Mr.  Putnam, — Dear  Sir :  The  late  John  B.  Skinner,  as  a  lawyer 
and  advocate,  had  few  equals,  and  no  superior  for  many  years  in 
Western  New  York.  To  uniform  courtesy,  untiring  industry,  un- 
flinching and  incorruptible  fidelity  to  his  clients,  you  must  add  great 
tact  and  knowledge  of  human  nature,  as  well  as  great  legal  learning, 
and  oftentimes  the  highest  order  of  eloquence,  to  make  a  just  esti- 
mate of  his  character.  It  was  before  a  ju^-y  that  in  some  respects 
he  was  unequalled.  His  efforts  there  were  entirely  extemporaneous. 
Those  who  have  had  great  opportunity  to  hear  the  most  eloquent  of 
American  orators,  say  there  were  occasions  when  these  extempo- 
raneous efforts  of  Mr.  Skinner,  in  true  eloquence  and  power,  sur- 
passed all  his  contemporaries.  When  fully  roused  his  language  was 
pure  English,  chaste,  elegant  and  concise.  He  spoke  without  appar- 
ent effort,  with  a  directness,  earnestness  and  naturalness  that  seemed 
almost  inspired.  His  mind,  like  his  person,  was  high  wrought  and 
of  the  finest  mould.  All  his  appeals  and  all  his  conversations  were 
addressed  to  the  better  part  of  our  nature.  With  truth  it  may  be 
said,  no  one  ever  heard  him  at  the  Bar,  or  held  private  conversation 
with  him,  who  did  not  feel  his  nobler  sentiments  strengthened  and 
elevated  by  his  influence. 

JAMES  R.  DOOLITTLE. 

February  7,  1873. 


54 

The  Hon.  Martin  Grover,  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
probably  knew  him  more  intimately  in  his  professional  char- 
acter during  the  last  twenty  years  of  Mr.  Skinner's  practice 
at  the  Bar,  than  any  other  man  now  living.  He  has  very 
kindly  furnished  a  sketch  which  I  have  great  pleasure  in 
embodying  in  this  paper  : 

In  compliance  with  your  request  in  behalf  of  the  Buffalo  Historical 
Society,  that  I  should  furnish  some  information  in  regard  to  the  pro- 
fessional career  of  the  late  Judge  Skinner,  I  will  briefly  do  so. 

I  became  acquainted  with  him  in  1836.  He  then  resided  in  Mid- 
dlebury,  Wyoming  county,  and  had  acquired  a  very  large  practice  in 
his  profession,  his  attention  being  principally  devoted  to  the  trial  of 
cases  at  circuit.  He  attended  all  the  circuits  in  Livingston,  Alle- 
gany, Cattaraugus,  Chautauqua  and  Genesee  counties,  and  his 
presence  was  regarded  almost  as  essential  as  that  of  the  judge. 
There  were  then  no  railroads  in  any  part  of  the  district,  and  Judge 
Skinner  traveled  from  one  county  town  to  another,  in  company  with 
the  judge,  each  with  his  own  horse  and  sulky. 

Extensive  study  and  large  experience  had  made  Mr.  Skinner 
perfecdy  familiar  with  and  master  of  nearly  every  legal  question  pre- 
sented, and  he  was  therefore  able  to  take  a  leading  part  in  nearly 
every  case  tried.  His  clear  intellect  and  capacity  for  quick  compre- 
hension enabled  him  to  try  a  cause  with  great  ability,  without  any 
previous  preparation,  and  with  but  litde  consultation  with  his  client 
or  the  other  counsel.  He  would  grasp  the  entire  case  at  once  and 
adopt  the  correct  mode  of  conducting  the  trial.  He  was  very  saga- 
cious in  the  examination  of  witnesses.  An  adverse  witness  rarely 
succeeded  in  baffling  him,  and  as  a  general  rule  he  would  derive  an 
advantage  for  his  client  from  the  reluctance  of  such  a  witness  to  dis- 
close the  whole  truth.  But  his  great  power  was  in  summing  up  to 
the  jury.  In  this  I  have  never  seen  one  superior  and  scarcely  ever 
his  equal.  His  clear  statements  and  close  logical  arguments  usually 
convinced  the  understanding  of  his  hearers,  and  when  to  these  were 
added  his  powers  of  persuasion,  the  effect  was  overwhelming.  He 
possessed  in  an  eminent  degree  the  highest  powers  of  an  orator.  In 
listening  to  him  no  one  could  doubt  his  entire  sincerity,  and  when 
he  appealed  to  the  highest  and  noblest  principles  of  humanity  it  was 
the   outpouring  from  the  heart.     His  words   went  directly  to  the 


55 

hearts  of  the  audience.  His  control  of  their  emotions  was  for  the 
time  complete.  Nothing  seemed  to  give  him  greater  pleasure  than 
the  exertion  of  these  high  faculties  in  the  cause  of  justice.  He  was 
a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,  and  exhibited  these  traits  in  all  his 
conduct  during  a  trial.  Always  courteous  to  the  Bench,  though  firm 
and  earnest  in  insisting  upon  the  rights  of  his  client.  His  uniform 
politeness  to  the  adverse  party,  counsel  and  witnesses,  had  a  strong 
tendency  to  restrain  undue  exhibitions  of  passion,  too  frequently 
witnessed  upon  exciting  trials. 

The  elegance  of  his  style  proved  his  correct  literary  taste  and  thor- 
ough scholarship.  It  is  possible  that  my  views  of  the  quahties  and 
powers  of  Judge  Skinner  may  have  been  somewhat  biased  by  my 
want  of  experience  when  I  first  became  acquainted  with  him.  That 
was  at  the  commencement  of  my  practice.  I  had  then  attended  the 
trial  of  but  few  causes.  Since  then  I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  hear- 
ing many  of  those  most  eminent  in  the  different  sections  of  the 
State,  and  while  listening,  have  often  mentally  compared  them  with 
Judge  Skinner. 

I  believe  I  am  correct  in  saying  that  he  was  excelled  by  none  in 
the  highest  quaUties  of  oratory.  His  known  high  sense  of  honor 
and  strict  integrity  added  to  the  confidence  reposed  in  him  by 
jurors.  They  knew  that  he  would  scorn  to  misstate  the  law,  or  mis- 
represent the  facts.  His  knowledge  of  poetry  and  the  best  English 
classics  not  only  gave  him  polish  of  diction,  but  furnished  facilities 
for  happy  illustration. 

Owing  to  his  residence  being  remote  from  the  places  where  the 
appellate  courts  were  held,  he  rarely  appeared  before  these  tribunals. 
Hence  he  has  left  in  the  reports  no  monuments  of  his  forensic  learn- 
ing and  skill.  That  he  was  regarded  as  a  sound  and  able  lawyer  by 
those  best  qualified  to  judge,  was  evinced  by  his  appointment  as 
Circuit  Judge,  and  ex-officio  Vice-Chancellor  in  1838,  by  that  able 
jurist  and  eminent  statesman,  William  L.  Marcy,  at  that  time  Gov- 
ernor. This  offer  he  declined,  as  he  did  others,  preferring  the  prac- 
tice of  the  profession.  This  he  industriously  pursued  until  admon- 
ished by  the  infirmity  of  age  that  he  required  rest.  He  then  retired, 
having  acquired  a  competency  by  legitimate  earnings  in  the  profes- 
sion, and  the  last  years  of  his  life  were  solaced  by  literary  pursuits 
and  social  intercourse  with  his  early  friends.  His  attachment  to 
these  was  strong.     His  love  for  the  law,  as  a  science,   continued 


56 

after  he  retired  from  practice.  Whenever  I  had  the  pleasure  of  pass- 
ing much  time  in  his  company,  that,  with  him,  was  a  favorite  subject 
of  conversation. 

He  was  a  sound  lawyer,  a  great  orator,  an  accomplished  gentleman 
and  a  devoted  Christian.  No  one  in  Western  New  York  has  added 
more  to  the  honor  and  dignity  of  its  Bar.  He  has  completed  his 
works  and  passed  away,  leaving  a  noble  example  for  his  surviving 
associates. 

M.  GROVER. 

Albany,  February  7th,  1873. 

The  expressions  of  these  distinguished  gentlemen,  who  had 
the  advantage  of  long  personal  and  professional  intimacy  with 
Mr.  Skinner,  are  doubtless  a  just  estimate  of  him  as  a  lawyer 
and  advocate. 

What  might  have  been  his  success  in  the  highest  range  of 
discussion,  we  can  only  imagine.  He  never  had  the  oppor- 
tunity which  a  great  public  cause  and  a  great  occasion  afford 
to  the  orator.  But  when  we  remember  the  integrity  of  his 
mind,  his  keen  sense  of  right  and  wrong,  his  intense  convic- 
tions, and  that  sensibility  and  fervor  which  charged  his  utter- 
ance with  a  magnetism  that  was  electric,  we  cannot  doubt  he 
would  have  taken  high  rank  in  any  deliberative  body.  There 
can  be  no  question  as  to  the  rank  Judge  Skinner  held,  not 
only  in  point  of  professional  ability,  but  of  professional  char- 
acter. He  was  of  that  class  of  lawyers  who,  in  the  best  days 
of  all  civilized  states,  have  made  the  legal  profession  the  ally 
of  religion  and  virtue  in  advancing  the  social  and  civic  inter- 
ests of  mankind.  His  profession  he  accepted  as  a  sacred  trust. 
That  trust  was  administered  with  a  conscientiousness  that 
reflects  honor  upon  human  nature. 

Said  a  friend,  speaking  to  me  of  the  Judge^ — one  who  knew 
him  well  as  a  lawyer  and  as  a  man  :  "  His  true  greatness  was 
his  character ; "  and  he  was  right.  That  was  solid  granite. 
It  stood  for  a  half  a  century  before  the  public,  simple,  grand, 
invulnerable.     It  was  a  felt  power  in  the  jury  box,  in  public 


57 

assemblies,  in  the  church,  in  the  street,  in  social  and  domestic 
life.  It  put  on  no  airs,  was  heralded  by  no  trumpet.  It 
stood  before  the  world  a  human  fact,  accepted  and  trusted  of 
all  men.  His  opinions  were  sometimes  minority  opinions, 
but  he  was  always  majority.  The  man  was  never  defeated, 
for  no  voting  force  could  overthrow  his  moral  supremacy. 

In  the  year  1838,  Mr.  Skinner  was  appointed,  by  his  early 
friend.  Governor  Marcy,  to  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  Eighth 
Circuit,  who,  at  that  time,  had  equity  jurisdiction  as  Vice- 
Chancellor.  There  was  an  universal  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
Bar  of  the  district  that  he  would  accept  the  position,  but  he 
declined  it.  President  Pierce  appointed  him  United  States 
District  Attorney  for  the  Northern  District  of  New  York, 
which  he  also  declined. 

In  1846,  he  was  appointed  Judge  of  the  County  Court  of 
Wyoming  by  the  Governor,  under  the  new  Constitution,  an 
office  which  he  held  a  few  months  until  the  election.  He  was 
one  of  the  first  victims  of  the  elective  judiciary  system.  He 
continued  the  practice  of  his  profession  •  until  about  1 860, 
when  he  removed  to  Buffalo. 

The  political  side  of  the  life  of  Judge  Skinner  is  not  with- 
out interest.  The  address  of  Mr.  Fillmore,  from  which  I  have 
quoted,  show^s  how  highly  he  was  valued  as  a  legislator.  He 
was  elected  to  the  New  York  Assembly  for  the  sessions  of 
1827,  1828  and  1829.  This  was  his  last  position  in  an  elective 
office  of  a  political  character.  The  question  is  naturally 
asked,  why  he,  with  his  gift  of  popular  eloquence,  and  his 
adaptation  to  legislative  and  executive  trusts,  remained  in 
private  life  through  almost  half  a  century  of  stormy  contro- 
versy and  struggle  over  constitutional,  social  and  domestic 
questions,  some  of  which  were  settled  at  last  before  the  highest, 
the  grandest  tribunal  ever  invoked  to  vindicate  the  rights  of 
man  or  the  honor  of  nations.  Did  he  retire  voluntarily,  a 
dreamy  philosopher,  or  a  morbid  cynic,  with  no  spirit  for  the 


58 

fray,  and  with  no  tastes  or  ambition  for  statesmanship  ?  On 
the  contrary,  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  all  the  politics  of  his 
time.  He  entertained  most  positive  opinions  upon  all  national 
questions,  maintained  them  in  all  national  canvasses,  and  was 
not  without  ambition.  Indeed,  I  think  that  while  he  realized 
how  much  he  had  won  by  his  constancy  to  his  profession,  he 
had  a  somewhat  regretful  feeling  that,  while  in  his  prime,  and 
when  politics  were  specially  attractive  to  men  of  his  character 
and  ability,  he  had  no  broad  public  career.  It  was  not  the 
eclat  which  may  follow  such  a  career,  which  he  valued  at  its 
worth,  no  more,  that  attracted  him,  ^but  the  opportunity  of 
public  service.  That  opportunity  he  valued,  and  while  no 
man  with  so  much  deserving  and  capability  could  be  more 
unassuming,  he  had  not  been  without  an  honorable  ambition 
to  impress  his  thought  and  character  upon  the  law  and  policy 
of  the  country.  If  this  be  a  weakness,  it  is  the  weakness  of 
most  able  men  at  some  period  of  their  lives,  who  live  in  the 
stimulating  atmosphere  of  democratic  institutions.  Why, 
then,  was  not  this  ambition  gratified  } 

During  the  period  of  Mr.  Skinner's  service  in  the  Legisla- 
ture, a  new  element  appeared  in  Western  New  York  politics, 
a  sort  of  Nile  inundation,  breaking  up  and  sweeping  away  all 
old  political  organizations.  I  refer  to  Anti-Masonry.  It 
took  the  form  of  a  political  party,  and  from  the  start  was  at 
the  white  heat  of  popular  passion.  The  tide  kept  rapidly 
rising,  and  floated  out  on  the  sea  of  popular  favor  all  the 
successful  men  of  that  generation  in  the  career  of  politics  in 
Western  New  York.  To  be  an  Anti-Mason  was  to  be  in  the 
realm  of  possibilities  for  any  position  within  the  gift  of  the 
local  constituency.  To  be  of  the  opposition  was  to  be  whelmed 
under  a  flood  of  majorities  which  made  hopeless,  almost  down 
to  the  present  day,  all  its  political  aspirations  through  popular 
election. 

It  is  not  surprising  that  a  party  which  came  out  as  a  whirl- 


59 

wind  should  aspire  even  to  national  ascendancy.  But  as  it 
was  local  in  its  origin,  and  was  the  child  of  outraged  feeling, 
rather  than  of  a  political  idea,  it  shared  the  fate  of  every 
political  organization  in  this  country  which  is  not  based  upon 
party  traditions,  or  does  not  involve  a  national  policy.  It 
lasted  long  enough,  in  localities,  to  place  several  men  in  public 
relations  who  continued  to  occupy  and  honor  them,  long  after 
the  organization  had  been  absorbed  in  the  national  opposition 
to  the  Democratic  party. 

It  is  a  noticeable  fact,  both  in  the  history  of  England  and 
this  country,  that  every  attempt  to  found  a  new  and  permanent 
political  party  upon  a  sentiment,  or  upon  a  question  of  morals 
or  of  religion,  has  failed.  There  have  been  temporary  depart- 
ures from  traditional  organizations  upon  some  new  question, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  repeal  of  the  corn  laws  in  England,  but 
with  the  attainment  of  the  end,  the  new  combination  has 
dissolved  and  sought  afresh  its  old  associations. 

In  the  United  States,  a  country  of  few  traditions,  and  no 
aristocratic  institutions,  and  where  so  many  constitutional 
questions  have  been  settled  by  the  courts,  or  by  war,  the  law 
of  the  future  development  of  parties  does  not  appear  on  the 
surface.  The  democratic  tendency  of  the  age  is  so  strong, 
that  a  reactionary  party  powerful  enough  to  contest  with  the 
dominant  idea  for  supremacy,  seems  a  long  way  off.  The 
time  is  not  favorable  for  purely  personal  parties,  and  the 
country  is  too  full  of  talent  and  aspirations,  to  have  public 
interest  monopolized  by  one  or  two  men,  as  in  the  times  of 
Jackson  and  Clay.  I  suspect  that  that  law  of  party  develop- 
ment will  be  found  to  exist  here,  in  a  large  degree,  as  it  long 
has  existed  in  England,  in  the  inheritable  character  of  politi- 
cal associations,  and  upon  the  principle  of  systematic  opposi- 
tion. I  should  certainly  regard  a  strong  proof  of  the  sound 
political  condition  of  the  country,  the  fact  that  opposition  to 
any  existing  administration   rested,  in    the   main,  upon  the 


6o 

principle  of  such  systematic  opposition,  so  perpetuating  a 
party,  vigilant,  ever  ready  to  take  advantage  of  the  mistakes 
of  its  rival,  and  ever  eager  to  supplant  it  and  abide  the  same 
test  of  hostile  scrutiny.  But  to  return  from  this  episode  into 
which  I  have  been  led. 

Mr.  Skinner,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter,  was  an  intense  con- 
servative. His  father  was  a  Mason,  and  that  fact  powerfully 
influenced  him.  He  could  not  be  floated  off  on  any  impulsive 
tide,  and  he  would  not  hold  an  organization  responsible  for  a 
crime,  atrocious  as  it  was,  of  a  few  individual  members.  He 
united  with  the  opposition  to  the  Anti-Masonic  party,  and  when 
the  Anti-Masonic  was  merged  in  the  Whig  party,  his  attitude 
remained  unchanged  in  the  Democratic  organization.  The 
result  was  that  the  standard  3,000  majority  in  "  Old  Genesee," 
Anti-Masonic  and  Whig  for  forty  years,  was  as  Ossa  on  Pelion, 
and  both  on  Atlas,  over  the  hopes  and  candidacy  of  every 
man  of  the  minority  for  political  promotion, 

Mr.  Skinner  was  often  the  candidate  of  his  party  for  high 
honors,  but  the  contest  was  always  a  forlorn  hope ;  and  he 
led  it  with  characteristic  courage  and  devotion. 

Mr.  Skinner  constitutionally  was  a  conservative.  This 
temperament,  which  led  him  to  sympathize  little  with  revolu- 
tionary movements  in  Church  or  State,  gave  the  tone  to  all  his 
public  action.  To  stand  in  the  ancient  ways,  to  adhere  to  old 
compacts,  to  maintain  the  ancient  reverences,  and  to  heave 
the  lead  every  inch  of  the  way  before  venturing  on  an  un- 
known deep,  was  the  law  of  his  nature.  During  all  the  revo- 
lutionary movement  in  his  own  Church,  in  1837,  and  on  all  the 
exciting  questions  which  occupied  the  public  thought  during 
the  quarter  of  a  century  previous  to  the  war,  he  was  a  conserv- 
ative every  day  and  every  minute  of  that  long  controversy. 
And,  when  that  is  said,  we  have  simply  stated  that  his  action 
was  in  obedience  to  that  centripetal  principle  which  is  an  ele- 
ment as  essential  for  the  safety  of  the  Church  and  the  State, 


6i 

as  it  is  for  the  harmony  of  the  planetary  system.  I  suppose 
it  is  vain  to  expect  that  the  radical  element,  without  which 
there  would  be  little  social  progress,  and  stagnation  would  be 
the  reigning  law,  will  ever  be  at  one  with  its  balancing  con- 
servative force,  or  that  either  will  ever  recognize  the  other  but 
as  a  foe.  Both  are  right  in  themselves,  both  are  wrong  in 
their  estimate  of  each  other.  Each  obeys  the  law  of  its  na- 
ture divinely  implanted,  and  between  the  two  society  finds 
the  middle  path  of  Safety. 

While  Judge  Skinner  was  of  this  type  of  character,  his 
conservatism  was  rational  and  practical.  He  always  ac- 
quiesced in  the  final  result  of  the  controversy  of  opinions, 
and  was  among  the  earliest  to  seek  to  adjust  institutions  to 
the  new  idea.  I  have  referred  to  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment in  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  1837,  one  of  the  results  of 
that  "  irrepressible  conflict "  between  the  spirit  of  the  past 
and  the  spirit  of  the  present,  of  which  our  restless  century 
has  been  so  fruitful.  He  was  a  Presbyterian  of  the  old 
school.  He  could  be  nothing  else  during  the  controversy. 
But  when  time  and  events  indicated  that  the  largest  good 
would  result  from  the  reunion  of  the  two  bodies,  he  was  of 
the  foremost  in  preparing  the  way  for  it,  and  no  voice  in  the 
ecclesiastical  assemblies  was  more  positive  than  his  in  urging 
that  consummation.  I  well  remember  his  enthusiasm  over  the 
reunion  after  his  return  from  the  General  Assembly,  when  the 
final  action  was  taken.  He  told  me  the  story  with  deep  emo- 
tion. He  dramatized  before  my  mind  the  scene  in  the  As- 
sembly, its  glowing  oratory,  its  rapture  and  enthusiasm,  its  spirit 
of  Christian  sacrifice  and  devotion.  The  occasion  was  to  him 
a  Mount  of  Vision  from  which  he  saw  the  future  conquests  over 
sin  and  evil,  through  the  united  power  of  the  Church  he  loved. 
While  there  was  great  firmness,  there  was  no  pride  of  opinion 
in  his  nature.  What  might  have  appeared  obstinacy  to  those 
who  did  not  know  him  well,  was  but  the  force  of  conviction. 


62 

I  was  desirous  of  embodying  in  this  paper  a  sketch  of  Mr. 
Skinner's  social  and  private  Hfe  as  it  unfolded  and  was  re- 
vealed to  friendship  during  his  residence  in  Wyoming.  The 
Reverend  J.  E.  Nassau,  of  Warsaw,  long  his  intimate  friend, 
has  kindly  furnished  me  his  recollections  in  the  following 
letter : 
Hon.  James  O.  Putnam  : 

Z)ear  Si?', — In  contributing  a  few  recollections  to  your  historical 
sketch  of  the  late  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner,  I  have  no  need  to  linger 
upon  his  standing  as  a  lawyer  at  the  Bar,  or  say  how  highly  his  pro- 
fessional skill  as  an  advocate  was  prized  and  sought  after.  This 
service  others  will  render. 

In  Wyoming  county,  where  he  resided  until  his  removal  to  Buffalo, 
his  name  and  influence  were  prominent,  his  abilities  cheerfully 
recognized,  and  his  reputation  stainless.  He  was  as  useful  as  he  was 
capable,  for  his  influence,  which  was  great  and  widespread,  was 
judiciously  and  happily  directed.  He  was  thoroughly  identified  with 
the  civil,  religious  and  educational  interests  of  this  thriving  section 
of  Western  New  York. 

He  was  long  an  active  officer  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Wyoming,  and  often  sat  as  ruling  elder  in  Presbytery,  Synod  and 
General  Assembly,  serving  in  responsible  positions  and  on  important 
committees  in  church,  courts  and  literary  institutions/  and  for  twenty 
years,  until  he  left  the  county,  he  was  the  efficient  President  of  the 
Wyoming  County  Bible  Society.  In  all  these  and  similar  relations, 
his  time,  counsels,  gifts  and  advocacy  Avere  constantly  sought  and 
freely  given.  The  services  of  none  were  more  useful  or  acceptable. 
An  earnest  friend  of  temperance  and  African  colonization,  he  did 
much  by  example  and  generous  effort  to  advance  these  and  kindred 
causes  of  benevolence. 

He  was  a  man  of  decided  convictions  and  settled  Judgments,  sure 
to  be  a  leading  spirit,  a  positive  factor,  in  whatever  associations  he 
held  a  place.  Everybody  that  knew  him  at  all,  knew  where  Judge 
Skinner  stood  on  great  questions  of  the  hour.  And  yet,  though  his 
views  were  well  matured  and  firmly  adhered  to,  and  he  far  from 
vacillating,  he  was  courteous  in  their  expression.  In  his  religious 
beliefs  and  preferences,  a  decided  Presbyterian,  he  had  a  large  heart 
and  exhibited  an  eminently  catholic  spirit. 


63 

He  was  not  only  a  man  of  ability  and  culture,  but  a  Christian 
gentleman  in  all  his  impulses,  speech  and  bearing  towards  others. 
He  delighted  to  exercise  hospitality,  and  have  his  friends  gather 
around  him.  Associates  were  not  kept  at  arm's  length,  but  were 
admitted  to  his  generous  confidence.  He  possessed  traits  of  character, 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart,  and  cultivated  attainments  that  greatly 
endeared  him  to  friends  and  acquaintances.  Approachable,  easy  of 
access,  he  was  capable  of  greatly  attaching  others  to  himself  And 
how  heartily  he  cherished  the  friendships  with  which  God  had  enriched 
him,  well  all  we  remember.  His  social  intimacies  were  very  pleasant, 
and  embraced  all  ages  and  various  classes.  He  was  a  man  for  others 
to  lean  on — true,  sympathetic  and  strong.  He  drew  others  to  him 
by  his  unaffected  cordiality,  earnest  sympathies  and  affable  manners. 
As  to  his  domestic  life  and  relations,  I  need  hardly  say  that  they 
were  singularly  attractive.  He  knew  what  the  joys,  sympathies  and 
refinements  of  a  Christian  home  were  ;  and  to  swell  the  fund  of 
domestic  happiness  brought  his  own  afl:iuent  contributions  of  piety, 
culture,  fidelity  and  love. 

He  was  a  person  of  the  finest  sensibilities,  that  manifested  them- 
selves continually  in  his  domestic.  Christian,  and  professional  life 
and  intercourse.  I  have  often  see  him  profoundly  affected  and 
moved  even  to  tears  in  religious  meetings  and  public  addresses,  and 
even  in  common  conversation  upon  topics  that  greatly  interested 
him.  And  nothing  took  deeper  hold  of  his  emotion  than  the 
grand  elemental  truths  of  the  Bible,  the  permanent  interests  of  the 
Church,  the  sorrows  and  joys  of  friends,  or  the  vital  issues  of  the 
country. 

He  was  a  good,  guileless  man,  whose  works  follow  him — a  man  of 
pure  motives,  thoroughly  conscientious  and  honest  in  all  his  dealings, 
of  blameless  exemplary  life,  a  pattern  of  integrity. 

His  name  will  long  be  held  in  honor,  and  his  memory  warmly 
cherished  in  this  and  adjacent  counties,  where  his  presence  was  ever 
welcome,  and  where  so  large  a  part  of  his  active  life  was  passed, 
and  his  influence  was  so  beneficent. 

Very  truly  yours,  J.  E.  NASSAU. 

Warsaw,  N.  Y.,  February  12,  1873. 

Mr.  Nassau  has  spoken  of  the  broadness  of  Mr.  Skinner's 
religious  nature.      It  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  his 


64 

characteristics.  Devoted  as  he  was  to  the  faith  and  interests 
of  his  own  branch  of  the  Church,  he  was  wdthout  sectarian 
narrowness,  and  wherever  he  found  the  act  and  spirit  of  di- 
vine worship,  he  gave  it  his  Christian  sympathy.  As  an  illus- 
tration, I  will  relate  an  incident  which  I  am  sure  will  not  be 
misunderstood,  and  I  think  we  may  profitably  dwell  a  mo- 
ment on  this  element  of  a  deeply  religious  nature.  Soon 
after  his  return  from  his  visit  abroad,  in  a  religious  meeting  of 
a  social  character,  he  was  lamenting  that  so  few  in  Protest- 
ant countries  were  in  the  habit  of  attendance  upon  public 
worship,  and  contrasted  the  fact  with  what  he  had  observed 
in  some  of  the  Catholic  countries  of  Europe.  He  then  rela- 
ted a  scene  he  witnessed  in  a.  Roman  Catholic  Church  .in  the 
Tyrol.  It  was  the  Church  of  St.  Gilgen,  which  forms  so 
pleasing  a  picture  in  Longfellow's  "  Hyperion."  The  scene 
was  on  just  such  a  Sabbath  morning  as  is  described  in  that  ro- 
mance, "when  the  woods,  and  the  clouds,  and  the  whole  vil- 
lage, and  the  very  air  itself  seemed  to  pray — so  silent  was  it 
everywhere."  The  local  peasantry  were  all  assembled  in  the 
old  church,  and  all  engaged  in  acts  of  worship  and  praise 
after  the  methods  which  many  centuries  have  made  sacred  to 
the  Tyrolese.  He  drew  before  our  fancies  a  picture  of  the 
deep  reverence  and  solemnity  of  the  worshipers,  and  we 
were  not  left  to  conjecture  the  impression  made  on  his  own 
mind  by  this  universal  Sabbath  religious  observance.  No 
one  who  listened  to  his  words  could  doubt  that  he  too  was  a 
worshiper  with  that  humble  congregation,  feeling  with  them 
the  common  want  of  our  humanity — rest  for  the  soul,  and 
communion  with  the  Infinite  Father.  Their  methods  of 
worship  were  not  his,  but  he  looked  through  and  beyond  the 
externals,  to  the  spirit  they  typify. 

Those  few  words  of  charity  and  feeling,  so  appreciative  of 
the  greatness  of  the  heart  of  God,  who  is  not  worshiped  in 
the  temple  or  on  the  mountain,  but  everywhere  in  spirit  and 


6^ 

in  truth,  were  more  eloquent  words  and  more  self-revealing, 
than  I  had  ever  before  heard  from  his  lips.  There  may  be 
those,  religious  as  he,  who  would  not  have  been  so  moved,  in 
a  Roman  Catholic  Church,  to  devotional  sympathy.  But, 
surely,  he  is  a  gainer  who  has  the  wisdom  that  distils  "  the 
soul  of  goodness  out  of  things  evil,"  and  that  knows  to  rise 
from  the  poverty  of  the  symbol  to  the  wealth  of  the  thing 
symbolized.  Human  sentiments  and  human  sensibilities  are 
the  choral  harmonies  of  the  temple  of  Humanity.  He  who 
hears  only  discord  in  their  commingled  tones,  is  as  one  who 
may  catch  the  melody  of  a  solitary  note,  but  has  no  ear  for 
the  myriad-voiced  creations  of  Beethoven. 

I  have  met  few  men  in  intimate  relations  in  whom  the 
religious  element  was  so  marked  as  in  our  friend.  It  seemed 
a  part  of  his  being.  He  was  orthodox  of  the  orthodox,  and 
accepted  absolutely  the  Evangelical  type  of  Christianity. 
But  his  religious  element,  as  appeared  to  me,  upon  which  this 
superstructure  of  faith  was  builded,  lay  beneath  all  formulas, 
indeed  all  systems.  He  would  have  been  religious  in  any  age, 
and  under  any  system  ever  formulated  by  devout  souls.  A 
system  failing  him,  he  would  have  erected  the  Athenian 
altar  before  which  Paul  stood  reverently,  and  worshiped  "  the 
unknown  God,  if  haply  he  might  find  him."  It  will  be  easily 
believed  that  such  a  nature  had  a  ready  answer  to  all  the 
materialistic  arguments  of  our  time.  The  primal  truths  of 
religion  with  him,  rested  not  upon  reason,  nor  upon  logic,  nor 
upon  any  of  the  methods  of  the  human  understanding,  but 
upon  the  instincts  of  the  soul,  its  moral  consciousness,  and  its 
need  of  God  :  a  method  of  demonstration  which  shivers  at 
a  blow  the  whole  fabric  of  materialistic  negations,  and  is  the 
basis  on  which  the  ultimate  argument  for  religion  must  rest. 

For  man  is  "an  infant  crying  in  the  night,"  and  his  hungry 
soul  can  no  more  find  Deity  by  logic  than  the  child  of  yester- 
day can  by  logic  find  the  maternal  fountain  of  its  earthly  life. 


66 

Wordsworth's  Ode  is  our  century's  noblest  interpretation 
of  man's  instinct  of  divinity  : 

Our  birth  is  but  a  sleep  and  a  forgetting  : 
The  soul  that  rises  with  us,  our  life's  Star 

Hath  had  elsewhere  its  setting 

And  Cometh  from  afar : 

Not  in  entire  forgetfulness 

And  not  in  utter  nakedness, 
But  trailing  clouds  of  glory  do  we  come 
From  God  who  is  our  home. 

Mr.  Skinner  was  active  as  a  reformer,  ever  recognizina; 
the  principle  that  innovation  is  not  reform.  He  had  no  sym- 
pathy with  slaivery,  and,  as  did  many  other  good  men,  he  at 
first  hoped  for  a  solution  of  the  long  unsolved  American 
problem,  in  the  African  Colonization  Society.  But  the  time 
had  not  arrived  for  an  historic  exception  to  the  law  of  the 
past,  that  social  regenerations  come  through  the  shock  of 
revolution.  He  was  active  in  promoting  that  cause.  He  was 
an  ardent  friend  of  the  temperance  reform,  yet  never  adopt- 
ing extreme  opinions,  or  favoring  extreme  action.  While  he 
was  judge,  I  well  remember  he  was  a  terror  to  violators  of 
the  license  laws.  There  was  no  form  of  social  evil  that  he 
did  not  oppose  with  the  whole  weight  of  his  influence  and 
character. 

He  was  identified  with  the  new  State  Reformatory  at 
Warsaw.  He  held  society  responsible  for  its  neglect  of  the 
classes  who,  for  want  of  proper  culture,  grow  up  vicious,  as 
well  as  neglected.  He  hoped  little  from  legislation,  but 
much  from  voluntary  and  associated  action,  for  the  elevation 
and  reformation  of  the  unfortunate  and  criminal. 

.When  discussing  the  duties  of  society  to  neglected  youth, 
he  sometimes  narrated  an  incident  in  his  professional  experi- 
ence. He  once  volunteered  to  defend  a  lad  charged  with  a 
felony  clearly  proved.  He  was  born  and  reared  amid  debas- 
ing associations.     Vice  was  his  schoolmaster,  his  character  the 


67 

legitimate  product  of  his  education.  He  urged  his  acquittal 
upon  the  ground  that  society  had  failed  of  its  duty  to  the 
accused,  having  never  sought  to  raise  him  to  a  virtuous  life. 
The  defense  appears  sentimental,  but  it  was  successful.  If 
the  twelve  did  wrong  as  jurors,  were  they  wholly  wrong  as 
men  }  This  incident  reveals  the  principle  of  Mr.  Skinner's 
identification  of  himself  rather  with  measures  of  reform  of 
criminal  youth,  than  with  those  which  seek  the  repression  of 
crime  by  vigorous  punishment.  Was  he  not  rigli^.-'  Can 
there  be  any  doubt  that  the  Children's  Aid  Society  of  New 
York,  which  annually  transfers  thousands  of  youths,  matur- 
ing in  the  gutters  and  hells  of  that  city,  for  lives  of  crime,  to 
homes  of  industry  and  virtue  in  the  West,  has  been  worth  to 
society,  as  an  educator,  more  than  a  thousand  prisons .'' 

When  we  remember  the  barbarism  of  the  criminal  code  of 
fifty  years  ago,  and  the  inhumanity  of  public  sentiment  in 
relation  to  poor  and  neglected  children,  let  us  not  doubt  the 
progress  of  the  spirit  of  Christianity.  "  Neither  do  I  con- 
demn thee,  go  and  sin  no  more,"  is  the  ideal  of  that  enthusiasm 
of  humanity  which  seeks  the  repression  of  youthful  crime 
through  moral  instrumentalities,  rather  than  by  the  pillory, 
the  whipping  post,  and  the  chain  gang.  It  would  not  abolish 
the  criminal  code,  but  it  would  humanize  it,  and  render  less 
necessary  its  execution. 

Mr.  Skinner  was  as  widely  identified  with  educational 
interests  as  any  man  in  Western  New  York.  He  was  for 
many  years  a  Trustee  of  the  Geneseo  Academy,  and  during 
nearly  his  entire  residence  in  Wyoming  a  Trustee  of  Middle- 
bury  Academy.  He  was  also  a  Trustee  of  the  Ingham 
Institute  at  Le  Roy. 

It  may  be  a  surprise  to  some  to  learn  that  Mr.  Skinner, 
many  years  before  his  residence  in  Buffalo,  actively  interested 
himself  in  the  enterprise  to  establish  here  a  university  of  high 
rank.     He  made  repeated  journeys  for  consultation  on  the 


68 

subject,  and  was  much  disappointed  when  Rochester  took  the 
lead  of  us,  and  founded  its  now  flourishing  college.  He  never 
abandoned  his  idea.  Among  the  last  conversations  I  had 
with  him,  he  spoke  of  our  State  Normal  School  as  the  nucleus 
of  a  future  university.  When  I  called  his  attention  to  the 
fact  that  commercial  towns  had  not  generally  proved  favor- 
able to  the  growth  of  universities,  he  abated  nothing  from 
his  confidence,  but  found,  as  he  thought,  in  the  reciprocal 
influenc-€  of  commerce  and  learning,  an  argument  for  so  asso- 
ciating them. 

This  enumeration  of  his  official  relations  will  realize  to  us 
that  his  activity  here,  in  connection  with  public  institutions, 
was  no  new-born  zeal,  but  the  habit  and  principle  of  the  most 
active  part  of  his  career. 

In  i860,  Mr.  Skinner  removed  from  Wyoming  to  Buffalo. 
We  can  hardly  realize  what  a  struggle  this  break  up  of  old 
associations  cost  him.  The  quiet  and  repose  of  his  beautiful 
country  home  and  its  surroundings,  identified  with  his  tastes 
and  aff*ections  as  they  were,  had  become  a  part  of  his  being. 
His  local  attachments  were  very  strong.  The  very  trees  he 
planted  grew  up  as  friends  to  him.  It  was  several  years  after 
he  purchased  his  Buffalo  property,  before  he  could  bring  him- 
self to  the  point  of  changing  his  residence.  Once  he  sold  his 
Wyoming  home  preparatory  to  the  removal,  but  he  was  so 
unhappy  at  seeing  it  pass  to  other  hands,  that  he  repurchased 
it,  and  deferred  for  a  considerable  period  his  final  coming  to 
Buffalo.  But  after  his  retirement  from  the  active  duties  of 
his  profession,  he  made  our  city  his  residence. 

What  he  was  among  us,  from  that  time  to  his  death,  is  a 
part  of  the  history  of  our  charitable,  religious  and  educational 
institutions.  He  united  himself  with  the  Calvary  Church, 
of  which  he  was  a  ruling  officer.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he  was  President  of  the  Buffalo  General  Hospital,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Presbyterian    Church, 


69 

President  of  the  New  York  State  Asylum  for  the  BHnd 
at  Batavia,  President  of  the  Buffalo  State  Normal  School, 
Vice-President  of  the  Reformatory  in  Warsaw,  President  of 
the  Erie  County  Bible  Society,  a  Trustee  of  the  Buffalo 
F"emale  Academy,  and  a  Trustee  of  the  Buffalo  City  Sav- 
ings Bank. 

His  was  not  an  idle  old  age.  His  life  and  talents  he  held 
to  be  sacred  trusts,  and  for  the  ten  years  of  his  Buffalo 
residence,  except  an  interlude  of  eighteen  months  abroad,  he 
devoted  his  leisure  to  the  duties  of  a  useful  citizenship. 

It  is  fresh  to  our  recollection  that  he  occupied  himself  for 
weeks,  not  very  long  before  his  decease,  in  endeavoring  to 
persuade  us  to  do  ourselves  good  by  providing  for  the  pay- 
ment of  a  paltry  debt  of  a  few  thousand  dollars — a  dead 
weight  on  the  neck  of  our  hospital.  His  success,  though  not 
complete,  was  as  near  to  completeness  as  any  charity  enter- 
prise can  be  with  us,  which  is  not  under  the  auspices  of  woman. 
She  alone  can  work  financial  miracles  for  charity,  and  in  her 
hopeful  vocabulary  there  is  no  such  word  as  fail.  Happily 
the  hospital  is  now  her  ward. 

In  1867  he  made  a  visit  to  Europe  with  his  family.  I  doubt 
if  it  ever  falls  to  the  lot  of  an  American  traveler  abroad  to 
enjoy  more  than  he  did.  Europe  with  its  art,  its  culture,  its 
incarnation  of  that  past  with  which  America,  so  fresh,  so  self- 
asserting,  so  purely  the  creation  of  the  hopeful,  restless, 
revolutionary  present,  has  so  little  sympathy,  kept  all  his 
enthusiasm  in  constant  glow.  Almost  every  day  was  to  him 
as  a  new  creation  bringing  with  it  the  gladness  of  a  fresh 
inspiration. 

It  was  while  abroad  that  a  great  sorrow  cast  its  shadow 
over  the  heart  and  home  of  our  friend.  His  only  daughter 
and  child,  and  only  grand-child,  died  while  the  family  were  in 
Switzerland.  It  is  not  for  us  to  lift  the  veil  of  that  sorrow, 
and  I  leave  its  heavy  folds  untouched. 


He  returned  with  the  other  members  of  his  family  in 
December,  1868,  to  resume  his  labors  in  the  many  spheres  of 
beneficent  action  to  which  the  pubhc  had  called  him,  labors 
never  suspended  except  by  his  last  sickness  and  death. 

Of  the  personal  characteristics  of  Mr.  Skinner,  one  of  the 
most  marked  was  his  habit  of  incarnating,  so  to  speak,  in 
himself  every  interest  that  commanded  his  sympathy.  What- 
ever represented  his  opinions  was  invested  with  an  almost 
sacred  character.  This  was  true  of  his  Church,  ever  an  object 
of  interest  and  affection.  It  w^as  true  of  his  party,  which  to 
him  became  personified  in  its  leaders  who  had  his  confidence. 
To  attack  it  was  to  attack  them  and  to  challenge  their  wisdom, 
their  integrity,  or  their  patriotism.  Their  honor  he  made  his 
own.  He  was  an  enthusiast.  A  speech  that  much  interested 
him  was  always  "  eloquent."  A  sermon,  which  on  a  different 
temperament  would  make  little  impression,  often  profoundly 
impressed  him.  Sympathy  was  the  touchstone  that  trans- 
muted everything  into  gold.  This  temperament  gave  a  warm 
coloring  to  many  a  sky  which  had  been  leaden  to  other  natures. 
I  speak  of  his  later  years,  for  during  his  middle  life  he  was  a 
great  sufferer  from  nervous  depression,  but  this  had  all  passed 
away  before  he  came  among  us,  and  we  were  accustomed  to 
look  at  his  face  as  the  sign  of  cheer  and  hope,  so  beaming 
was  it  with  kindliness  and  joy. 

Great  simplicity  and  dignity  of  character  were  combined  in 
him.  He  was  proud  in  the  sense  in  which  honor  and  consci- 
ous integrity  have  a  right  to  be  proud,  but  his  was  a  latent 
pride,  a  covert  fortress  for  the  defence  of  character  and  self- 
respect.  There  was  something  of  the  old  chivalry  in  his 
nature.  He  paid  reverence  wdiere  it  was  due.  There  was 
ever  in  his  bearing  that  courtesy  and  regard  for  the  sensibility 
of  others  which  constitute  the  highest  charm  of  social  man- 
ners. His  ordinary  method  of  speech  was  subdued  and 
gentle.     Baseness  would  rouse  him  from  his  usual  calm,  and 


71 

then  it  was  made  to  feel  the  force  of  his  indignation.  He 
was  faithful  to  the  obligations  of  friendship,  and  to  old 
friends  he  clung  with  romantic  attachment. 

He  was  twice  married.  In  1830,  to  Catharine,  only 
daughter  of  Mr.  Richard  M.  Stoddard,  of  Le  Roy.  She 
died  in  1832,  leaving  no  children.  He  was  again  married  in 
1837  to  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  Mr.  Henry  G.  Walker,  of 
Wyoming.  Their  only  child  was  the  late  Mrs.  Josiah  Letch- 
worth.     He  died  June  6,  1871,  after  a  few  weeks  illness. 

His  last  years,  with  the  exception  of  the  single  sorrow  to 
which  I  have  alluded,  were  serene  and  happy.  He  had  won 
all  which  professional  eminence  and  purity  of  character  could 
secure  to  him — reputation,  ample  fortune,  private  esteem,  and 
public  respect.  His  life  had  been  widely  useful,  his  example 
pure. 

Death  found  him  amid  the  sweets  of  friendship  and  the 
ministrations  of  love,  his  pathway  to  eternity  luminous  with 
the  light  of  religion. 


APPENDIX. 


The  great  importance  Judge  Skinner  attached  to  Bible 
distribution,  and  the  interest  he  felt  in  it,  may  be  seen  in  the 
following  extracts  from  an  address  made  by  him  at  an  Anni- 
versary Meeting  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  held  at  the 
Bible  House  in  New  York  : 

(From  piiblislud  Reports  of  the  American  Bible  Society. ) 

On  motion  of  Hon.  John  B.  Skinner,  of  Wyoming  County,  N.  Y., 

Resolved., — That  our  free  institutions,  and  those  moral  enterprises 
designed  to  improve  the  condition  of  the  race,  sprang  from  the 
Bible,  and  without  its  influence  they  cannot  be  sustained. 

The  influence  of  the  Bible,  observed  Judge  S.,  upon  the  destiny 
of  man  as  a  social  being — the  tendency  of  its  teachings  to  develop  a 
knowledge  of  his  rights  and  duties,  and  to  prepare  him  to  under- 
stand and  to  sustain  the  responsibilities  of  a  citizen  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  people — is  a  topic  not  unworthy  of  consideration  upon 
an  occasion  like  this. 

In  this  view  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  or  unprofitable  to  trace 
the  history  of  our  free  institutions,  and  to  examine  the  causes  which 
have  produced  and  thus  far  sustained  them.  I  refer  not  now  to  that 
noble  vindication  of  the  rights  of  man,  to  which  our  fathers  pledged 
their  lives,  their  fortunes,  and  their  sacred  honor;  nor  to  that 
revolutionary  struggle  which  gave  us  a  name  as  one  of  the  nations  of 
the  earth  ;  for  these,  and  the  blood  and  treasure  which  they  cost, 
would  have  been  as  unavailing  as  other  more  recent  struggles  for 
liberty,  but  for  that  regard    for  the  Bible  and  its  sanctions  which 


73 

characterized  these  movements.  The  deep  convictions,  the  uncom- 
promising principles,  which  had  induced  the  Puritans,  more  than  a 
century  and  a  half  before,  to  encounter  persecution  and  banishment, 
and  every  peril,  for  the  rights  of  conscience  and  the  freedom  of 
religious  opinion,  had  produced  a  spirit  of  inquiry  into  the  nature  of 
civil  government  and  the  principles  of  popular  liberty,  which  pre- 
pared them  to  comprehend  and  to  assert  the  new  and  startling  truth 
— that  the  will  of  the  people  is  the  only  just  foundation  of  civil 
government. 

The  early  settlers  of  this  country,  who  had  fled  from  religious 
despotism,  had  been  thorough  students  of  the  Bible,  and  were  deeply 
imbued  with  the  doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  Before  the  settlement  at 
Jamestown  or  at  Plymouth  our  present  translation  had  been  finished 
and  was  generally  circulated,  and  all  its  teachings  were  familiar 
to  those  Puritans  who  would  admit  no  authority  but  the  Bible, 
and  allow  no  priest,  nor  parliament,  nor  king,  nor  hierarchy  to  in- 
terpret it. 

The  venerable  Robinson,  in  his  parting  words  to  the  embarking 
Pilgrims,  as  if  animated  with  a  prophetic  view  of  the  future  destiny 
of  his  flock,  with  the  deep  earnestness  and  emotion  of  a  spiritual 
father,  pronounced  the  solemn  and  authoritative  injunction,  so  well 
remembered :  "  I  charge  you,  before  God  and  his  blessed  angels, 
.  .  .  that  you  be  ready  to  receive  whatever  of  truth  shall  be  made 
known  to  you  from  the  written  word  of  God." 

It  was  in  the  cabin  of  the  Mayflower,  on  the  desolate  coast  of 
New  England,  and  before  a  foot-print  had  been  made  upon  the  shore, 
that  the  memorable  instrument  of  government  was  signed  by  every 
adult  male  person,  which  event  a  distinguished  historian  has  pro- 
nounced "  the  birth  of  popular  constitutional  liberty,  where  hu- 
manity recovered  its  rights  and  instituted  government  on  the  basis 
of  equal  laws  for  the  general  good." 

The  mass  of  mankind  knew  no  liberties  except  such  as  were 
wrung  from  the  grasp  of  hereditary  power;  they  looked  to  royal 
charters  for  the  measure  of  their  rights  and  the  rule  of  their  duty ; 
but  these  Puritans,  nurtured  in  the  sentiments  of  Luther  and  Calvin, 
and  in  the  school  of  intolerance,  had  searched  the  oracles  of  God 
as  the  only  admitted  standard  of  authority,  the  only  acknowledged 
arbiter  of  their  rights. 

We  must  look  back  to  the  commencement  of  the  Christian  era — 


74 

to  the  doctrines  which  the  Son  of  (jod  proclaimed  on  the  plains  of 
Palestine — for  the  first  dawn  of  light  upon  the  rights  of  man.  "  The 
blind  see,  the  lame  walk,  the  deaf  hear,  and  to  the  poor  the  Gospel 
is  preached,"  were  the  evidences  which  He  put  forth  of  His  mission, 
and  of  His  divinity.  Philosophers  and  sages  have  studied,  and 
labored  and  taught,  but  all  their  theories  had  respect  to  the  privi- 
ledged,  the  high-born,  and  the  prosperous.  It  was  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
who  first  put  forth  the  claims  of  a  common  brotherhood,  and  enforced 
the  duties  of  a  common  humanity.  Disregarding  the  artificial  distinc- 
tions which  the  world  reverenced.  He  lifted  up  the  poor,  the  neglected 
and  the  friendless,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  those  principles  of 
reciprocal  justice  and  popular  liberty  so  distinctly  visible  in  the 
democracy  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
adopted  by  the  Revolutionary  fathers. 

Regard  for  the  Bible,  and  reverence  for  its  precepts,  have  marked 
every  period  of  our  early  history.  It  was  in  the  darkest  hour  of  our 
Revolution,  amidst  the  cares  and  the  anxieties  and  the  dangers  of  the 
fearful  conflict,  and  a  few  days  before  Congress  were  driven  from 
Philadelphia,  that  a  proposition  was  considered  to  supply  the  country 
with  Bibles,  and  a  resolution  passed  to  import  twenty  thousand  copies 
at  the  public  expense. 

Thus,  while  the  French  Revolution  rejected  the  Bible  and  its 
Author,  abolished  the  Sabbath,  and  Avrote  over  the  gateway  to  the 
grave,  "Death  is  an  eternal  sleep;"'  our  fathers  raised  this  Book 
above  every  other  standard,  and  inscribed  upon  it  those  words 
which  the  Christian  emperor  is  said  to  have  seen  written  upon  the 
cross  hung  out  from  the  skies,  "/;/  hoc  viiicc." 

At  a  later  period,  after  the  struggle  was  over  and  peace  was 
restored,  when  the  Convention  assembled  to  form  a  Constitution, 
to  secure  the  fruits  of  that  contest  to  us  and  those  who  should 
come  after  us,  such  was  the  diversity  of  interest  and  conflict  of 
opinion,  so  numerous  were  the  theories  advanced,  that  the  moment- 
ous objects  of  the  meeting  hung  in  doubt  and  uncertainty,  when  the 
venerable  Franklin — a  name  not  associated  with  the  strictest  Puri- 
tans, representing  a  constituency  far  removed  from  the  rock  on 
which  they  landed,  and  the  spot  consecrated  by  their  toil  and  suffer- 
ings,— arose  and  addressed  that  body  in  a  speech  which  has  been 
preserved,  and  which  I  beg  leave  to  read  as  a  happy  illustration  of 
the  sentiment  of  this  resolution. 


75 

'^Sir:  In  the  beginning  of  the  contest  with  Britain,  when  we  were 
sensible  of  danger,  we  had  daily  prayers  in  this  room  for  the  Divine 
protection.  Our  prayers,  sir,  were  heard  and  they  were  graciously 
answered.  All  of  us  who  were  engaged  in  the  struggle  must  have 
observed  frequent  instances  of  a  superintending  Providence  in  our 
favor.  To  that  kind  Providence  we  owe  this  happy  opportunity  of 
consulting  in  peace  on  the  means  of  establishing  our  future  national 
felicity  ;  and  have  w'e  now  forgotten  that  powerful  Friend  ?  or  do  we 
imagine  that  we  no  longer  need  His  assistance  ?  I  have  lived,  sir,  a 
long  time,  and  the  longer  I  live,  the  more  convincing  proofs  I  see  of 
this  truth — that  (xod  governs  the  affairs  of  men ;  and  if  a  sparrow 
cannot  foil  without  His  notice,  is  it  probable  that  an  empire  can  rise 
without  His  aid  ?  We  have  been  assured,  sir,  in  the  Sacred  Writ- 
ings that  '  Except  the  Lord  build  the  house,  they  labor  in  vain  that 
build  it ; '  and  I  firmly  believe  this,  and  I  also  believe,  that  without 
His  concurring  aid  we  shall  succeed  no  better  than  the  builders  of 
the  tower  of  Babel.  We  shall  be  divided  by  our  little  partial,  local 
interests ;  our  projects  will  be  confounded,  and  we  ourselves  shall 
become  a  reproach  and  a  by-word  down  to  future  ages ;  and  what 
is  worse,  mankind  may  hereafter,  from  this  unfortunate  instance, 
despair  of  establishing  go\'ernments  by  human  wisdom,  and  leave  it 
to  chance,  war  and  conquest.  I  therefore  beg  leave  to  move  that 
henceforth  prayers,  imploring  the  assistance  of  heaven  and  its  bless- 
ings upon  our  deliberations,  be  held  in  this  assembly  every  morn- 
ing, before  we  proceed  to  business." 

These  were  the  sentiments  of  the  founders  of  our  republic  ;  upon 
this  rock  was  our  fabric  erected ;  and  if  w^e  are  true  to  the  faith  they 
have  delivered  to  us,  and  follow  in  the  paths  they  have  marked,  our 
liberties  are  safe.  , 

If  our  civil  liberties  can  thus  be  traced  to  the  teachings  of  the 
Gospel,  as  illustrated  and  exemplified  in  the  character  and  policy  of 
our  Puritan  fathers, — if  we  must  look  to  their  principles  for  the  germ 
of  our  civil  privileges  and  the  elements  of  our  greatness, — who  can 
estimate  the  value  of  the  Bible,  and  the  importance  of  the  work  in 
which  we  are  engaged,  as  a  means  of  perpetuating  these  blessings  ? 

Let  this  volume  be  circulated — let  it  be  carried  to  every  house — 
let  its  truths  and  precepts  find  place  in  the  hearts  of  our  wide-spread 
population — every  patriotic  sentiment  will  be  awakened,  every  noble 
aspiration  strengthened,  and  every  social  virtue  cherished ;  it  will 
disarm  prejudice,  dispel  superstition,  subdue  the  passions  and  link 
together  a  mighty  people  from  every  nation,  and  kindred  and  tongue, 
in  the  bonds  of  peace,  in  the  love  of  man  and  in  the  fear  of  God. 

But  I  have  touched  only  a  single  point — such  a  view  of  this  sub- 


76 

ject  would  be  like  that  relief  which  should  take  the  helpless,  drown- 
ing man  from  the  fatal  wreck,  and  carry  him  within  view  of  the 
cheering  light,  and  within  sound  of  the  glad  voices  of  sympathy  and 
kindred,  and  leave  him  there  to  die  unblest.  I  have  not  referred 
to  the  power  of  the  Gospel  to  break  the  fetters  in  which  pride,  and 
avarice  and  selfishness  have  bound  up  the  charities  of  the  soul  ;  nor 
to  those  fountains  of  benevolence  which  this  week  commemorates, 
and  which,  springing  from  this  source,  have  sent  forth  their  gushing 
waters  over  the  dry  earth,  producing  moral  beauty  and  verdure  and 
loveliness.  I  have  not  alluded  to  that  noble  institution  in  the 
father-land,  whose  jubilee  has  just  been  celebrated,  and  which  has 
shed  its  radiance  over  every  clime,  and  whose  light,  mingling  with 
ours,  beams  from  those  bright  spots  indicated  on  your  missionary 
map,  which  a  kindred  institution  has  rescued  from  the  desert.  I 
have  not  spoken  of  that  boon  of  sympathy  and  brotherhood  which 
has  reclaimed  the  drunkard,  and  sought  out  the  abandoned,  and 
carried  the  hopes  of  life  to  the  lost.  These  are  fruits  of  that  Tree 
of  Life  whose  leaves  are  for  the  healing  of  the  nations. 

Nay,  this  influence  is  the  voice  of  the  Son  of  God  in  the  sepulchre 
of  Lazarus.  It  penetrates  the  grave,  and  rescues  its  tenants  from 
corruption  and  the  worm  ;  it  Clothes  them  with  a  robe  of  spotless 
righteousness  ;  it  furnishes  them  with  a  passport  to  that  city  which 
hath  foundation,  to  those  joys  which  "eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear 
heard,  nor  hath  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive.'' 


Princeton   Theological  S. 


1012  01041   9150 


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